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. Soldiers killed four “fidayeen” - or commando-style gunmen willing to fight to death – after an hours-long gun battle to end what was the worst single attack on the army in years. 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. 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. Army chief Dalbir Singh and northern command head DS Hooda also rushed to Uri.

Source: Hindustan Times September 18, 2016 13:05 UTC