Official sources revealed that the one Army division is being inducted in addition to the existing one manning the LoC (Line of Control). The additional troops being rushed to the twin districts will take care of counter-insurgency operations so the other division can exclusively man the strategically important LoC.

The demand for more troops was made by the state government following the pushing in of foreign mercenaries by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence. What set the process into top gear was the personal intervention by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah for additional troops citing series of attacks on the security forces as the reason.

What is being viewed by the security forces with utmost concern is the adoption of guerrilla tactics by the militants, perhaps for the firsttime at such a scale. Till recently, they had been avoiding direct confrontation with the security forces. To cite a few instances, two jawans were killed when militants attacked their picket at Morah Bachai, a week ago. Similarly in another face-to-face attack, five security forces personnel were killed by militants at Hari Budha area last month. Recently, militants lobbed mortar shells on the Army Division headquarters in Rajouri township and attacked a complex occupied by Special Operation Group (SOG) of State Police at Surankote.

The transition of the nature of attacks from largely defensive to offensive indicates the acquisition of sophisticated weaponry including mortars and anti-tank missiles by the militants.

While the militant ranks are swelling, sources pointed out that there is only a nominal presence of the security forces in the region. With very little presence of forces in the `depth' areas, the Centre has now felt it necessary to take some load off the forces present.

Presently, asenior official said, there was only one Brigade deployed at Surankote in Poonch, while one Army battalion each was present in Kandi, Thanamandi and Darhal areas of the Rajouri district. Besides, the BSF had its three battalions to man Romeo Sector which included parts of Rajouri and the adjoining Udhampur districts.

Meanwhile, there is still no clear idea of the strength of militants which is reported to have increased in recent times. While intelligence agencies put the number at 1,000, police and the security forces claim that only 400 militants are active in the districts.

Sources say that this sudden rise in the militant numbers is not a new phenomenon, what is alarming is the renewed support that these groups have managed to garner in recent times.

Pak bid to capture Indian post foiled

The Indian Army has repulsed yet another Pakistani attempt to capture an Indian post on the Siachen glacier, killing two intruders last night, defence ministry sources here said. Pakistani troops attemptedto capture Indian post ``Fateh-5770'' on the southern glacier before midnight. This time too, a sentry noticed these movements and alerted his colleagues, the sources said. Jawans of a parachute battalion deployed there not only repulsed the attack but killed two Pakistani intruders.