DEATH TOLL COULD RISE 10 of the more than 20 soldiers injured are critical, having received gunshot wounds and severe burn injuries; all four militants killed
Army confirms Jaish-e-Mohammad behind attack ahead of key UN session; PM says perpetrators will

Heavily armed militants attacked an army base in north Kashmir early Sunday and killed 17 soldiers, triggering calls for a swift retaliation that could squeeze the space for any détente between India and Pakistan.

The dawn raid surprised soldiers in their sleep as attackers lobbed grenades and set fire to tents and shelters. The blaze killed 12 troopers and the rest died in the gunfight, sources added. TV images showed helicopters flying to evacuate the wounded and smoke billowing from the mountainous base at Uri, which houses about 12,000 troops.

Soldiers killed four “fidayeen” — or commando-style gunmen willing to fight to death — after an hours-long gunbattle to end what was the worst single attack on the army in years. More than 20 soldiers were wounded, some of them seriously.

The attack jeopardised hopes of peace returning quickly to Kashmir which has been rocked by two months of violent protests in which 86 people have been killed and thousands injured. Sources said the raid was part of a fresh wave of infiltration by militants from across the Line of Control, the heavily militarised de-facto border with Pakistan.

CALL FOR RETALIATION A top army official said the attack pointed to the involvement of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was also blamed by India for the Pathankot airbase attack in January. Islamabad denied any involvement.

Sunday’s attack led to calls for an aggressive response, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing to punish those behind the “cowardly” and “despicable” attack.

No one has so far claimed responsibility but home minister Rajnath Singh hit out at Pakistan, calling it a terrorist state that needed to be “identified and isolated”.

MADE-IN-PAKISTAN Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, director general of military operations, said the militants could be from the JeM as some of the equipment recovered from them had Pakistan markings. He said four AK-47 rifles, four under barrel grenade launchers and ammunition were found on the dead militants.

Islamabad rejected the charge with the foreign office saying that New Delhi always blamed Pakistan for such incidents even before completing a probe.

The attack is likely to further roil Kashmir that army sources say has seen scores of infiltration attempts since protests broke out against insurgent leader Burhan Wani’s killing in July.

The Uri attack came within hours of the Uttarakhand police chief revealing that the Centre had sent out an alert for possible terrorist strike on defence installations in North India.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar visited Srinagar for a meeting with top army commanders and home minister Rajnath Singh cancelled scheduled trips to Russia and the United States. Army chief Dalbir Singh and northern command head DS Hooda also rushed to Uri. Home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi will visit Srinagar on Monday.

WHAT NEXT? THE OPTIONS BEFORE INDIA

SURGICAL STRIKE

Covert strike on terror camps in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir. But India might run the risk of a full-fledged war with a nuclear state

AGGRESSIVE POSTURING

Move forces to the border in an eyeball-to-eyeball deployment, close Indian skies to Pak flights. Move may not be of any help in long run

DIPLOMACY

Isolate Pak internationally. India has pursued this line for decades without success. Now that terrorism has emerged as a global threat, India has more diplomatic leverage

BILATERAL TALKS

Engage the civilian leadership in Pak. This, however, goes against New Delhi’s stated line that terror and talks can’t go together

BACK CHANNEL TALKS

Engage the Pakistani army, which controls the levers of power, through back channels. But their interest in peace is suspect

WAR OF ATTRITION

Scale up the offensive over Balochistan. Make Pak pay for its interference in J&K. But this might strengthen anti-India elements in Pak

HOT PURSUIT

After 18 soldiers were killed in an ambush in Manipur last year, Indian forces went across the border into Myanmar and eliminated them. This option was mooted against Pakistan-backed militants but never exercised. Pakistan is a different kettle of fish to Myanmar, though.