Around 1150 militants in training camps in Pakistan, PoK: Army

SRINAGAR: Upto 1150 militants are in about 17 training camps in Pakistan and parts of Kashmir under its occupation and about 325 ultras are at launch pads along the Line of Control (LoC) waiting to sneak in, a top Army commander said here today.

"As per our intelligence inputs, there are about 17 terrorist training camps in Pakistan and PoK put together. Out of that, nine are opposite the 15 Corps zone. Four each in Manshera which is in Pakistan and Muzaffarabad.

"Total strength of terrorists in these camps is anything between 1000 to 1150," General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 corps Lt Gen Satish Dua told reporters here.

He said that there are 23 different launch pads on the other side closer to the LoC having strength of 315 to 325 militants waiting for opportunity to sneak in.

There is a bulge in the militants in the launch pads because they are unable to get across, Gen Dua said.

"Whenever they have tried an infiltration bid, it has always been foiled or the militants have been eliminated. So, what is happening is that their numbers are swelling up but they are unable to get across," the Army commander said.

Lt Gen Dua said the militants have become desperate as their masters want them to do "something".

"So much so that they are under pressure from their masters to do something and several times they just try and sneak in and attempt is to just target either civilian or military targets very close to the LoC and then go back," he said.