An Indian Express report on Wednesday suggested that the bulk of the fatalities in Uri took place inside a cook house and a store room that were set on fire and bolted shut by the militants from the outside to prevent soldiers inside from escaping.
The report, quoting unnamed officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that is investigating the pre-dawn attack on the army base in Uri on Sunday, said the terrorists spent a day in the mountains observing their target. The report also said that the NIA has taken DNA samples from the slain terrorists before burying them.
Eighteen soldiers were killed and dozens others injured in the attack on the base. The NIA took over the investigation from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which had registered a case on Sunday, and began probe by collecting evidence available with the Army formation at Uri.
Besides the arms and ammunition recovery, two mobile sets were recovered from the four terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group and two Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
Official sources told PTI that pictures of the terrorists would be shown to Jaish-e-Mohammad cadres lodged in various jails of the state as well as other parts of the country. Two of the four bodies are charred below the waist, they said.
The sources said while one GPS was damaged due to the fire, the other was being examined with the help of technical experts to ascertain the route taken by the terrorists and whether some help was extended to them by any local.
The place where the attack took place is located barely 6 kms from the Line of Control.
Army has also instituted an inquiry into the attack with preliminary investigation suggesting the terrorists had entered the area at least a day before mounting the brazen assault.
The inquiry besides ascertaining lapses, if any, would also suggest measures to prevent such attacks in the future as Pakistani-based groups were indulging more in "shallow infiltration", which means that terrorists strike the first available installation after crossing the Line of Control.
(With PTI inputs)