Jammu, Oct 11 (IANS) Indian Army troops killed a militant and foiled an infiltration bid from across the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said Saturday. A group of about four to five militants sneaked into Indian territory from the Pakistani side of the LoC into Sabra gali area in the mountainous Poonch district late Friday night. Army officials said they were sighted about 200 metres inside Indian territory when troops opened fire at them.

While one infiltrator was killed, the others managed to flee back into Pakistani territory, an official said. The infiltrator who was killed has been identified as Mohammad Sarwar, resident of Rad in Pakistan.

The barbed wire fencing on the LOC inside Indian territory was found cut at a few places “to pave the way inside Indian area”, the official said.

Security forces have launched searches in the area.

Infiltration attempts from Pakistan, both across the international border and the LoC, are on the rise. This is the sixth such attempt in the past fortnight in the Jammu region.

An official said: “There are desperate attempts of infiltration across the international border and LoC to sneak into the Indian side. The reason could be the US pressure on militants in Pakistan’s western frontiers. Also, they want to infiltrate in large numbers before the state assembly elections.”