Jammu, Feb 16 (IANS): A brief exchange of fire occurred on Sunday on the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K’s Poonch district.

Officials said that an Indian army post came under fire from a forested area across the LoC in the Gulpur sector of Poonch district.

“Indian army soldiers retaliated and the exchange of fire lasted for a very brief period. There was no damage on the Indian side. It was not clear whether the Pakistan army was behind the firing, or it was terrorists hiding in the forests and waiting for an opportunity to sneak in,” officials said.

Last week terrorists fired at a patrolling party of the army in Krishna Ghati sector of the same district.

Earlier, five terrorists were killed when they tried to infiltrate the Indian side of the LoC in Poonch district. One of the intruding terrorists stepped on a landmine planted by the Indian army as part of the anti-infiltration mechanism along the LoC.

On February 11, two army soldiers including a captain were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Akhnoor sector of the LoC. The IED had been planted by terrorists, officials said.

As there has been very little snowfall this winter so far, all the traditional routes of infiltration are still open. For this reason, the army is maintaining high vigil on the LoC while the security forces and the police are on high alert in the hinterland.

In a recent security review meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, clear instructions were given by the Home Minister on ensuring zero infiltration and zero tolerance to terrorism.

The security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations against the terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers.

L-G Sinha chaired two security review meetings last week, one in Srinagar and the other in Jammu. The L-G directed the security forces to ensure that those who harbour terrorists feel the heat so that they are restrained from providing shelter and logistic support to the terrorists.