27/05/2002  Chiusa la Srinagar Kargil a causa di bombardamenti a Drass.

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Chiusa la Srinagar Kargil a causa di bombardamenti a Drass.

Our Srinagar correspondent adds: Civilian traffic on the Drass-Kargil road was suspended after heavy shelling from the Pakistani side in the Drass sector, which led to large-scale migration of people and suspension of a film’s shooting

Contenuto di: Heavy shelling in Drass town, traffic suspended

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Heavy shelling in Drass town, traffic suspended
240 Pak soldiers killed, 75 bunkers destroyed

NEW DELHI, May 27: For the first time after the Kargil conflict, Pakistani forces today opened heavy fire on the Drass town on the crucial Srinagar-Leh highway as army officials here said 240 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and 75 bunkers destroyed in retaliatory fire over the past 10 days, reports PTI.

After indulging in heavy shelling in border plains of Jammu area, Pakistan for the past two days had begun heavy firing at Siachen, Kargil and in upper areas of northern Kashmir like Uri and Kupwara, army officials said.

They said Indian forces had responded in kind and inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistani forces with 70 enemy soldiers killed or wounded and 75 bunkers destroyed in Akhnoor, Poonch, Nowshera and Rajouri sectors.

They said the damage on the Pakistani side had been more telling in the plains of Ranbir Singh Pura, Samba, Hiranagar and Ramgarh area on the International Border where for the past 10 days 160 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and large number of posts and bunkers destroyed.

Officials said as the Pakistani forces have moved right upto the Line of Control in Poonch, Uri and Kupwara areas, thousands of villagers on the PoK side had moved out of their villages.

"While Pakistani fire is targeting villages on the Indian side, Indian forces in their retaliation are directing their fire on Pakistani posts only," the officials said.

Officials said that Pakistani forces yesterday and today had indulged in indiscriminate firing in the R S Pura sector where five civilians, including a women and two children, had been killed.

Following this Indian forces had launched effective retaliatory fire assaults on Pakistani posts facing the sector in which 10 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and about 15 bunkers destroyed, they said.

According to reports, Pakistani lone strike corp is massed facing the Akhnoor-Chicken Neck-R S Pura and Shakargarh areas and recently these formations along with those on Rajouri and Nowshera sectors have been bolstered by induction of Pakistan’s Peshawar based 11 Reserve Corps.

Our Srinagar correspondent adds: Civilian traffic on the Drass-Kargil road was suspended after heavy shelling from the Pakistani side in the Drass sector, which led to large-scale migration of people and suspension of a film’s shooting.

Official sources said that Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked mortar and artillery shelling from across the border in Drass last evening, targeting civilian areas and military installations.

Around 150 shells landed in and around the Drass town, forcing people to flee from Murad Bagh, Goshan, Breas and other villages near the Line of Control.

About ten houses were also damaged in the shelling which continued for several hours, the sources said.

A Drass resident, Ghulam Nabi Zia, told over phone today that around 20 per cent people had already left for safer places.

He said 8-10 shells fired by Pakistani troops early today landed in the town. However, they fell in the open field, without causing any damage.

"It was very heavy shelling yesterday and it appeared as if a war had already broken out between the two neighbours," he said.

However, there was no loss of life, he added. Sources said the shooting of a film "Lakeer" was also suspended because of the heavy shelling. Some of the shells fell at a distance from the hotel where the film crew was staying.

"The window panes of the hotel and other adjacent buildings were also smashed," the crew said.

The shooting of the film, being directed by Raza Hussain, was suspended and the entire unit shifted to Kargil, sources said.

They said Indian troops also retaliated and hit a number of Pakistani bunkers across the LoC. However, casualties and damage suffered by Pakistani troops was not immediately known.

There was also a brief exchange of artillery and mortar shelling from 1600 hours to 1900 hours in Kargil. However, the shells fired by Pakistani troops fell in the hilly area, without causing any damage, the sources said.

Another resident said that he saw Bofors guns and other tanks moving towards Drass from Kargil this morning.

All civilian traffic on the Drass-Kargil road was suspended and only Army vehicles and Bofors guns allowed to pass, he added.

Kargil and Drass hit headlines across the globe when Pakistani intruders occupied almost all heights in March 1999. It took about two months for Indian troops to push them back into the Pakistani territory.