India prepares ground assault in Kashmir to repel Islamic rebels

India resumed air strikes yesterday against hundreds of Islamic guerrillas it has been battling with for over a month in northern Kashmir, as its ground troops prepared to launch a massive assault to push the intruders back across the disputed border into neighbouring Pakistan.

Aerial strikes against the intruders were called off for the first time in 10 days on Saturday to enable ground troops, under heavy artillery covering fire, to move to heights of around 16,000 ft in Kashmir's remote Kargil region where the Islamic militants are well entrenched.

Army officers said the build-up of troops for the big assault was "on stream" with the aim of taking Operation Vijay (Victory) to its logical conclusion of evicting what India claims are Pakistan-backed intruders inside its territory. They threaten a strategic military highway.

Over the weekend India produced Pakistani army identity cards and pay books, recovered from three soldiers killed in the fighting, to bolster its claim that the intruders included regulars from Pakistan's 4th Northern Light Infantry unit. Their bodies have been handed over to Pakistan.

Pakistan denies the allegations claiming the soldiers were ambushed by the Indians while on patrol. All reporters, meanwhile, have been banned from the conflict area as ground troops begin their massive offensive. Army officers said soldiers had to be acclimatised properly.

"The soldiers have to be prepared not merely with efficient equipment and better tactics but by getting their bodies used to strenuous tasks in an environment where oxygen is rare," said a army officer.

Fifty-seven Indian soldiers have been killed and over 217 wounded, many seriously, and 14 are missing since the conflict began early last month after the insurgents infiltrated eight kilometres inside Indian territory. An army spokesman claimed around 200 of over 500 Islamic insurgents had been killed.

India, meanwhile, has rejected Pakistan's offer to send its Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz, to Delhi today for talks to defuse the Kashmir crisis.

A foreign office spokesman in Delhi said India would offer Pakistan an alternative date soon. Diplomatic sources said this was a delaying tactic by India for postponing Mr Aziz's visit until its military ground position in Kashmir is favourably restored.