In one of the worst casualties suffered by the Indian Army in a single attack, heavily armed militants attacked a strategic military base in north Kashmir’s Uri on Sunday morning and killed 17 soldiers, triggering calls for a fierce Indian retaliation on Pakistan that was seen to be behind the strike.
Four “fidayeen” or commando-style gunmen willing to fight to the death — were also killed after sneaking into the base in Uri near the Line of Control with Pakistan, the worst single attack on the army in 26 years.
More than 30 soldiers have been injured, at least 10 of them critically, amid fears that the death toll would rise. According to sources, most of the soldiers have gunshot wounds while many have severe burn injuries.
A top army official said the attack pointed towards the involvement of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e Mohammad, which was also blamed by India for the Pathankot airbase attack in January.
