The 2016 Uri attack was carried out on 18 September 2016 by four terrorists from Jaish-e-Mohammed against an Indian Army brigade headquarters near the town of Uri in the Indian Jammu and Kashmir. 19 Indian soldiers were killed in the attack, and 19–30 others were injured. It was reported by the BBC as having been "the deadliest attack on Indian Forces in Kashmir in two decades".
Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based jihadist organization (designated as a terrorist organization by the India, Australia, the US, and UK among others, and proscribed by Pakistan in 2002), was involved in the planning and execution of the attack. At the time it was carried out, the Kashmir Valley was experiencing high levels of violent unrest.
Background
The 2016 Uri attack, which resulted in the deaths of 19 Indian soldiers, was swiftly attributed by India to militant groups allegedly operating from Pakistan, leading to significant diplomatic fallout and military escalation.
Additionally, since 2015, insurgents had increasingly taken to high-profile fidayeen attacks (suicide attacks) against the Indian security forces: in July 2015, three insurgents attacked a bus and police station in Gurdaspur, and earlier in 2016, 4–6 terrorists attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station. Indian authorities had blamed Jaish-e-Mohammad for the latter attack.
Also, since 8 July 2016, the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region had been undergoing continuous unrest following the killing of Burhan Wani, local militant of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. The killing sparked violent protests against the Indian government in the valley, leading to the protests being described as the "largest anti-India protests" against Indian rule in recent years.
Attack
At around 5:30 a.m. on 18 September, four insurgents attacked an Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, near the Line of Control in a pre-dawn ambush. They were said to have lobbed 17 grenades in three minutes. As a rear administrative base camp with tents caught fire, 17 army personnel were killed during the attack. An additional 19–30 soldiers were reported to have been injured. A gun battle ensued lasting six hours, during which all the four individuals were killed. Combing operations continued to flush out additional militants thought to be alive.
Most of the Indian soldiers had suffered casualties and subsequently those who died were from the 10th battalion, Dogra Regiment (10 Dogra) and 6th battalion, Bihar Regiment (6 Bihar). One of the injured soldiers succumbed to his injuries on 19 September at RR Hospital in Delhi Cantonment, New Delhi, followed by another soldier on 24 September, bringing the death toll to 19.
The casualties were primarily believed to have occurred as a result of non-fire retardant transition tents. This was the time of a troops shift, whereby troops from 6 Bihar were replacing troops from 10 Dogra. The incoming troops were housed in tents, which are normally avoided in sensitive areas around the LoC like Uri. The insurgents snuck into the camp breaching heavy security and seemed to know exactly where to strike. Seven of the personnel killed were support staff, including cooks and barbers.
Aftermath
On 19 September, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Chief of the Army Staff Dalbir Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other officials of the Home and Defence ministries met to review the security situation in Kashmir, particularly in areas along the Line of Control. The National Investigation Agency filed a first information report regarding the attack and took over the investigation from Jammu and Kashmir Police on 20 September.
Pakistan International Airlines cancelled flights to some parts of Kashmir on 21 September in the aftermath of the attack. Security around the army installation in Uri was intensified following the attack, while soldiers on both the Indian and Pakistani side of Line of Control were placed on high alert.
Postponement of SAARC summit
In the wake of the attack, India cancelled its participation in the 19th SAARC summit to be held in November in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement, saying, "India has conveyed to current SAARC Chair Nepal that increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of Member States by one country have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November 2016." "In the prevailing circumstances, the Government of India is unable to participate in the proposed Summit in Islamabad", the statement said.
Regarding India's withdrawal from the scheduled SAARC summit in Islamabad, Pakistan's Foreign Office termed the withdrawal "unfortunate", and posted a rejoinder stating: "As for the excuse used by India, the world knows that it is India that has been perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan." The statement included a reference to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, detained by Pakistan for espionage, and accused India of violating international laws by interfering inside Pakistan.
Later, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan also withdrew from the summit. On 30 September 2016, Pakistan stated that the summit scheduled for 9 and 10 November in Islamabad would be held on alternative dates.
Indian retaliation
On 28 September, ten days after the attack, the Indian Army conducted retaliatory surgical strikes on alleged launch-pads used by militants in Pakistan Administered Kashmir. Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said that it had made a preemptive strike against "terrorist teams" who were preparing to "carry out infiltration and conduct terrorist strikes inside Jammu and Kashmir and in various metros in other states". The Economist while citing Indian reports, reported that Indian commandos crossed the Line of Control and struck at the safe houses, allegedly killing approximately 150 Kashmiri militants.
Bilateral boycott
Following the uproar after the Uri attack, Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) decided to ban all Pakistani actors, actresses and technicians working in India until the situation returns to normal. Bollywood artists were divided towards the ban with some justifying it while some questioning its benefits. Indian TV entertainment channel Zindagi announced discontinuation of airing Pakistani TV shows on the channel. The Pakistani government responded in October with a blanket ban on all Indian television and radio programming in Pakistan.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national governing body for cricket in India, ruled out the possibility of reviving bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan in the near future. BCCI also asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to not group Indian and Pakistan cricket teams together in international tournaments, keeping in mind border tensions between the two countries. Badminton Association of India, the governing body for badminton in India, decided to boycott the Pakistan International Series scheduled to be held in Islamabad in October, as an act of "solidarity" with the government's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan.
Investigation
An initial investigation into the attack indicated that there were several procedural lapses at the camp. According to the standard security procedures, any tall grass and bushes around vital security installations should be trimmed. However, this procedure was not followed by the Uri camp which might have allowed insurgents to sneak into the camp undetected using the tall grass and bushes around the perimeter. In addition, the probe also indicated that two manned guard posts failed to detect the intrusion because the coordination between them might have been poor. It also indicated that the terrorists had infiltrated the Indian territory through Haji Pir Pass on the intervening night of 16–17 September and stayed in Sukhdar village which is located at a vantage point that allows an unhindered view of the layout of the camp as well as movement of the personnel in it.
Perpetrators
The Director General of military operations, Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh, said that there was evidence that the individuals involved in the attack belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad. He established a hotline contact with his Pakistani counterpart and conveyed India's serious concern on the issue. Singh also stated that the militants used incendiary ammunition to set fire to the tents.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said:
In the recent incidents, we have recovered a number of items that include GPS from the bodies of terrorists with coordinates that indicate the point and time of infiltration across the LoC and the subsequent route to the terror attack site; grenades with Pakistani markings; communication matrix sheets; communication equipment; and other stores made in Pakistan, including food, medicines and clothes.
Whilst, on 29 September, National Investigation Agency officials said:
Until now, little hard evidence has emerged to link the perpetrators of the terror attack in Uri to specific jihadist groups in Pakistan.
Former Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf said the weapons that India reported as used by militants, and reported to have Pakistani markings, could be procured anywhere in the world, not just in Pakistan. Musharraf further said since many American weapons had inadvertently fallen into the hands of the Taliban, it is possible for Pakistani weapons to have been acquired by the perpetrators without Pakistani involvement.
On 25 September, the Indian Army announced that two Pakistani nationals from Pakistan administered Kashmir were arrested by the Border Security Force in the Uri sector. They were said to have been recruited by Jaish-e-Muhammad two years ago for the purpose of acting as guides to infiltrating groups in the Uri sector. These guides themselves did not have a role in the Uri attack. They were being questioned for gathering intelligence about infiltration attempts. Pakistan denied these allegations. On 26 February 2017, India's National Investigative Agency (NIA) decided to file a closure report after failing to find any evidence against the two men whom they accused of facilitating the Uri army base attack.
On 25 October 2016, the Indian media reported that street "posters" in Gujranwala, Pakistan, attributed to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the Uri attack. The posters claimed that one of LeT's fighters Mohammad Anas, code-named Abu Saraqa, died in the Uri attack, and there would be a funeral prayer followed by a speech by the LeT chief Hafiz Saeed on 25 October. The poster also claimed death of 17 Indian soldiers in Uri attack. After the images of the poster circulated on the Internet, the organisation claimed that it was a hoax. Abbas Nasir, the former editor of Dawn, confirmed the report about the posters on Twitter but stated that the funeral prayers have been postponed.
Reactions
India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his cabinet condemned the attack. Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar and Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh visited Kashmir soon after the attack to assess the ongoing military operations and review the security situation in the region. Parrikar instructed the army to take firm action against those responsible for the attack and also stated that the deaths of the soldiers "will not go in vain." Home Minister Rajnath Singh accused Pakistan of what he called its "continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups," calling Pakistan a "terrorist state" that should be "isolated." Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre stated that the "entire nation was traumatised" over the death of the soldiers and was "united in this hour of grief." He also stated that the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Defence Minister had come to a conclusion that some sort of a "response" needs to be given to Pakistan.