NEW DELHI, FEB 27: Seven Indian soldiers were killed in a pre-dawn attack by Pakistan at an early warning post in the Naushera sector of Jammu and Kashmir. (Agency reports said that eight soldiers were killed).The bodies of two soldiers, including one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), are missing. It is suspected that the bodies may have been dragged across the Line of Control (LoC) along with the weapons belonging to the soldiers. Army sources said the attack came at a Listening Post (LP) some 500 meters from the LoC, a little before 4.30 a.m.``The Pakistani army, in a silent raid, crossed the LoC and attacked the post which is surrounded by enemy posts on three sides. Heavily outnumbered, the soldiers fought to the last man but they could not sustain the defence,'' an Army official said.The Army initially reported that four soldiers were missing and accused Pakistan of dragging them away. However, late in the evening, a defence spokesman said: ``As of now, we have five dead Indian soldiers and two missing in action.'' Tension has been high on the LoC especially south of Pir Panjal in the last fortnight.Both Indian and Pakistani forces have exchanged artillery and mortar fire in the recent past. There have been reports of six persons, including two Pakistani soldiers being killed at the LoC apart from four terrorists being gunned down in counter-insurgency operations in the past 72 hours.An Army lieutenant was also killed in the operations. Giving details of the tension along the LoC, an official said that two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory Indian artillery fire in the Mendher sector in J&K. Several bunkers were destroyed and soldiers on the other side injured in the incident. Four other Pakistan-backed infiltrators were killed while trying to infiltrate in the Samba sector.Four AK-47 rifles and large quantities of ammunition were recovered when the Army killed four terrorists in the Riasi sector near Rajauri. A young Army lieutenant G P S Chahal was also killed in the operation. A number of Indian soldiers were injured in the gun battle. In all the Army said, 10 Pakistani soldiers and infiltrators were killed in the past 24 hours.The situation along the LoC worsened with Pakistan resorting to ``unprovoked mortar and artillery shelling'' late yesterday.``Pakistan's shelling was totally uncalled for. They are trying to increase the tension along the LoC to keep it hot. They generally start shelling to push terrorists through the LoC,'' an official said here.The Army retaliated and after night-long shelling succeeded in silencing the Pakistani mortars and artillery, he added. In the incident, two Pakistani soldiers were killed along with their bunkers and their stores destroyed. The official said that one Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and three grenades were recovered from near the bodies of four killed infiltrators.
