New Delhi: Asserting that Army will continue counter-insurgency operations in the coming winter months with "full might" in Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief Gen N C Vij today (November 1) said 1,200 hand- held thermals and unattended ground censors had been inducted along with the Line of Control (LoC) to boost troops confidence and prevent terrorist infiltration.

"The upgraded surveillance equipment has raised the confidence of the troops", Gen Vij said pointing out that the number of militants killed had increased and numerous attempts to infiltrate had been thwarted.

He said no posts along the LoC would be vacated in the winter months and Army has planned to redouble its efforts to eliminate terrorists.

The Army Chief said more of the hand-held thermals and unattended censors would be inducted in the coming months and they would act as force multipliers for the Army.

On border shelling, Gen Vij said it was a continuous process and often it was resorted to by the Pakistani troops to give cover to militants to help them infiltrate.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Combined Commanders Conference, which was addressed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Gen Vij said that such meetings were aimed at chalking out inter-services co-ordination for operations.

"We have discussed requirement and refinement of joint operations", he said without elaborating.

PTI