The army on Tuesday admitted that there had been a sudden spurt in infiltration across the Line of Control in Kashmir.

"Infiltration has gone up in the last 10 days across the command zone of Jammu and Kashmir [Images]," Lieutenant General S S Dhillon, general officer commanding 15 Corps, said in Srinagar [Images].

Compared to last year, there had been more infiltration in July this year. One of the reasons for the spurt could be that the snow had started to melt in the higher reaches late this year, he said.

"Our counter-infiltration measures are in place. The damaged fence has been repaired. We will take a heavy toll on infiltration bids that are made on the LoC," he added.

He said the Gurez anti-infiltration operation, which began last week, was still going on and so far, bodies of 12 infiltrators were recovered.

"The Gurez operation is still continuing. When we got information that between 15 to 20 militants had crossed to our side, it took us three days to establish a cordon. So far, 12 militants have been killed. One porter also died during the operation," he said.

He added: "There has been a reduction in violence in the hinterland. That is not to say that no violent incidents will take place. We are slowly and steadily moving towards normalcy. How far we have succeeded is a matter of perception, but I think we have turned the corner."

"We would like to root out terrorism and if we cannot do that, we must contain it within manageable levels, so that the government here can function. We cannot reach that goal without involving the common man," the corps commander said.

• 7 militants killed during infiltration bid

On whether the time was ripe to withdraw the Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Dhillon said that the decision has to be taken by the Centre.

He, however, added that the act provided protection to the security forces while they performed their duties.