10 Years Of Uri: India Remembers 19 Soldiers Killed In 2016 Terror Attack

India on Friday remembered the 19 Army personnel killed in the 2016 Uri terror attack, an assault that triggered a major military response to cross-border terrorism.

The attack came amid continuing militancy and attempts by armed groups to infiltrate across the Line of Control (LoC) into Jammu and Kashmir. On September 18, 2016, heavily armed terrorists attacked an Army administrative base near Uri in Baramulla district.

The attackers opened fire and used incendiary ammunition, setting fire to tents and temporary shelters where soldiers were staying. The Army said 17 soldiers were killed initially, with the toll later rising to 19 as injured personnel succumbed to their wounds.

All four attackers were killed. The Army said the terrorists were foreign nationals and that initial investigations indicated links to Jaish-e-Mohammed. Weapons and other material recovered from them included AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers and items carrying Pakistani markings.

The attack triggered widespread outrage in India and heightened tensions with Pakistan. Eleven days later, on the night of September 28-29, 2016, India announced that its Army had conducted surgical strikes across the LoC, targeting terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Army said the operation was based on specific intelligence about terrorist teams preparing to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir. The strikes were subsequently presented by the government as a significant element of India's response to cross-border terrorism.

The Uri attack and the surgical strikes later became the subject of Vicky Kaushal-starrer Uri: The Surgical Strike, directed by Aditya Dhar and released in 2019. Kaushal played a fictional Army officer in the dramatised account of the operation. The film popularised the phrase “How’s the josh?” and brought the episode to a wider audience.

Ten years on, the fallen soldiers continue to be remembered for their sacrifice.