Three Indian soldiers were killed "in action" on the LoC, while the body of a soldier was mutilated, the Indian Army said on Tuesday. The Northern Command also vowed "heavy retribution for the cowardly act".

"3 soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act," the Northern Command said.



The incident comes amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control in September this year.

AMBUSHED TEAM BELONGED TO 57 RASHTRIYA RIFLES



The ambushed team belonged to 57 Rashtriya Rifles.

The three martyred soldiers have been identified as 31-year-old gunner Manoj K Kushwah, a resident of Daddupur from Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh, 25-year-old rifleman Prabhu Singh, a native of Khir Jamkhas village from Teh Shergarh in Rajasthan and another 25-year-old rifleman Shashank K Singh, hailing from Teh Mohamadabad in UP's Gazipur.

The team was an on-the-move counter-infiltration patrolling party. Terrorists spotted the patrolling party before the latter could spot them.



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Bodies of three soldiers have been recovered by the Army.

There was visible coordination between terrorists and the Pakistani Army along the LoC. Firing and shelling was carried out to help terrorists infiltrate and also to pin down our troops.



SECOND MUTILATION IN A MONTH

Last month, Mandeep Singh, a soldier of the 17th Sikh Regiment, was killed in an encounter and his body mutilated by terrorists in the same Machhil sector of Kupwara area of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Army, in an official statement, said the soldier's body was "mutilated" and added that it would retaliate with an "appropriate response".

During the Kargil war in 1999, Captain Saurabh Kalia, soldiers Arjunram Baswana, Mula Ram Bidiasar, Naresh Singh Sinsinwar, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria and Bhika Ram Mudh of the 4 Jat Regiment were captured by Pakistani troops and brutally tortured.

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The soldiers had their ear drums pierced with hot iron rods, eyes punctured and genitals cut off. The autopsy of the bodies also revealed that they were burnt with cigarettes butts. Their limbs were also chopped off, teeth broken and skull fractured during the torture. Even their nose and lips were sliced off.

In another incident, on January 8, 2013, Pakistani soldiers entered Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers -- Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Indian officials said both the bodies were mutilated, and Hemraj's body was decapitated.

