NEW DELHI, SEPT 18: India on Friday remembered the 19 Army personnel who attained Veergati in the deadly Uri terror attack, which took place on September 18, 2016, when four heavily armed foreign terrorists stormed an Army administrative base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.
The attack began in the early hours of September 18, 2016, when the terrorists opened fire on the Army camp at around 5:30 am.
The ensuing gunbattle lasted nearly three hours, during which all four attackers were neutralised by the security forces.
The terrorists also used incendiary ammunition, triggering fires in tents and temporary shelters where troops were staying.
The Army subsequently said that 13–14 of the initial casualties were caused by the fires.
The Army’s initial official assessment said the attackers were foreign terrorists and that initial inputs indicated a Jaish-e-Mohammed connection.
Four AK-47 rifles, four under-barrel grenade launchers and other war-like stores were recovered from the slain terrorists.
The Army also reported that several recovered items, including food and medicine packets, carried Pakistani markings.
A detailed search of the area after the operation resulted in the recovery of 39 under-barrel grenade-launcher grenades, five hand grenades, two radio sets, two GPS devices, two map sheets, two matrix sheets and a mobile phone, besides the four AK-47 rifles and four grenade launchers.
The attack initially left 17 soldiers dead, while the final toll rose to 19, making it one of the deadliest attacks on the Army in Jammu and Kashmir.
The incident triggered intense national outrage and became a major turning point in India’s security response to cross-border terrorism.
There was also an evolution in the investigation regarding the identity of the organisation behind the attack.
While the Army’s initial assessment pointed towards Jaish-e-Mohammed, a subsequent NIA investigation reported in 2017 attributed the attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), based among other things on coded matrix sheets recovered from the attackers.
The Uri attack remains etched in India’s military memory not only for the loss of 19 soldiers but also for the courage displayed by troops in containing and eliminating all four attackers.
On its 10th anniversary, tributes were paid to the fallen personnel, whose sacrifice remains associated with the Army’s continuing fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
