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Militants want to instill fear among J&K voters, more attacks expected

NEW DELHI: From Swiss mountaineering boots and fully-padded snow clothing to advanced night-vision devices and GPS sets, the jihadis at India's doorsteps are now well-equipped for high-altitude warfare on par with regular soldiers.The well-trained militants are also willing to go the whole hog to hit "high-value targets", or conversely, unleash random mayhem in a bid to disrupt the high voter turnout in the ongoing polls in strife-torn J&K.The Army is somewhat taken aback at the "high-end equipment" being found on the infiltrators killed on the LoC or during terrorist attacks in the hinterland. The six terrorists killed in the Nowgam sector last Tuesday, for instance, were all wearing Koflach mountaineering boots costing $200-300 apiece.PM Narendra Modi to go ahead with Kashmir visit on Monday"Similarly, the foreign (read Pakistan) terrorists had insulated jackets and trousers, somewhat akin to what our jawans wear in Siachen. They also had rubberised, insulated shears to cut through the fences," said a senior officer."Only a few top militants used to be so well-equipped earlier. But now, entire groups of infiltrators are equipped this way, no longer deterred by mountain passes being snowed under," he added.The militants are also armed to the teeth for long-drawn gun-battles, which was reinforced by the huge weaponry found on the six terrorists killed after a 12-hour encounter in the Mahura Army camp on Friday.The fidayeen attack was also planned with precision. First, it came at 3.30 am when alertness levels are a little down. Second, even as five terrorists hit the camp from two points, one was positioned on the main road to "ambush" the quick-reaction teams (QRTs) that they knew would respond to the gunfire. Lt-Colonel Sankalp Kumar was in QRT's lead vehicle dispatched from Uri. "The militant opened fire at the Gypsy, which fell into a gorge killing Sankalp and two jawans," said an officer.But did the Army also let it guard slip? "Many camps in J&K still have rudimentary perimeter defences, little electronic surveillance and lax security. But then, it's very difficult to stop suicide attackers, who also have the element of surprise with them. In Mahura, they were stopped from getting deep inside the camp, though we lost eight soldiers," said an officer.