Pak Army mine, sniper rifle found on Amarnath Yatra route

Srinagar, Aug 2 (IANS) A Pakistan Army anti-personnel mine, a M-24 American sniper rifle with telescope, IEDs, and caches of explosives, and ammunition were recovered in an extensive search along the Amarnath Yatra route, top army officials said on Friday

Addressing a joint press conference here, Chinar Corps commander, Lt Gen K.J.S. Dhillon said: "Extensive searches resulted in recovery of an anti-personnel mine with a markings of Pakistan Ordnance Factory, one sniper rifle with telescope, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), IED container, IED circuit board, IED initiating mechanism and a remote control device."

The officer said an anti-personnel mine could cause grave casualties in a crowded area. "This is an ideal weapon for those areas where large number of people gather or a convoy is moving," Lt Gen Dhillon said, adding that searches were still going on in the area.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said that IEDs attacks have increased.

"But the security forces have also got success when IED expert Munna Lahori was eliminated last week," he said.

Terming IED threats a very important factor this year, he said the February 14 Pulwama attack targeting the CRPF convoy, that left 40 troopers dead, was the big incident.

"This year, more than 10 serious attempts were made in the Valley, mostly in the districts of Pulwama and Shopian, but it was now shifting to different places in south Kashmir. Five active modules who were expert in such explosives have been busted," the DGP added.