The 2016 Uri attack was carried out on 18 September by four Jaish-e-Mohammed militants from Pakistan 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 security 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), 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
Since 2015, the 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 blamed Jaish-e-Mohammad for the latter attack.
Also, since 8 July 2016, the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been undergoing continuous unrest following the killing of Burhan Wani, local freedom fighter 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 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.