The Kargil War was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir along the Line of Control (LOC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay, the name of the Indian operation to clear the Kargil sector of the Pakistani infiltrators. Indian Sikh soldier guarding the Kargil victory memorial The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the LOC. The town of Kargil is located 205 km (127 miles) from Srinagar, facing the Northern Areas across the LOC. Like other areas in the Himalayas, Kargil has a temperate climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and chilly with temperatures often dropping to −48 °C (−54 °F). An Indian national highway (NH 1D) connecting Srinagar to Leh cuts through Kargil. During the winter season, due to extreme cold in the snow-capped mountainous areas of Kashmir, i