Army Eliminates All Terrorists Involved in Attack on Ambulance

Jammu: The Army said Tuesday that all the three militants involved in the previous day’s sneak attack on an ambulance that was part of a military convoy in the Akhnoor area of Jammu and Kashmir have been killed in the counter-offensive launched by its men. With the killing of the trio, the gunfight between the two sides ended after 27 hours but the mopping up operation continued in the area falling close to the Line of Control (LoC), reports said.

“One terrorist was killed on Monday afternoon and two others were gunned down in the final assault launched by the Special Forces at the first light on Tuesday,” an Army official said. The operation was suspended for the night to avoid any collateral damage, he added.

Confirming it, the Army’s Nagrota (Jammu)-based 16 Corps (also called the White Knight Corps) said in a post on X: “After round-the-clock surveillance throughout the night, an intense firefight unfolded today morning resulting in a significant victory for our forces”. It added: “Relentless operations and tactical excellence has led to the elimination of three terrorists. The operation also saw the successful recovery of war-like stores, marking a critical step in maintaining security in the region.”

The group of heavily armed militants, which was believed to have infiltrated into the Jammu district from across the LoC during the intervening night of October 27-28 had at around 7 am on Monday entered a temple (Asan Mandir) at Jogwan area of Akhnoor’s Sunderbani sector and were, according to locals, desperately looking for a mobile phone to make a call. When they saw an Army convoy passing by, they opened fire, hitting the ambulance. The ambulance was hit by over a dozen bullets, and those on board had a close shave with death, the officials had said.

The Army troops strongly retaliated for the attack, forcing the trio to flee into the nearby woods, the Army had said. A “swift and meticulous” operation was launched by the Army reinforcements to take on the militants. Later, Special Forces joined the effort and Army tanks were also moved to prevent the militants from escaping the dragnet.

While the troops were taking on the militants, a four-year-old Army dog Phantom was killed after being hit by a barrage of gunfire. “As our troops were closing in on the trapped terrorists, Phantom drew enemy fire, sustaining fatal injuries,” a defence spokesman said, adding: “His courage, loyalty, and dedication will never be forgotten”.

This was the second such attack on an Army convoy in J&K in the past week. On the evening of October 2, a group of militants targeted a small Army convoy with automatic weapons near its Nigeen Post in Gulmarg’s Botapathri area close to the LoC in the Kashmir Valley’s Baramulla district. In this attack, five people, including three soldiers and two civilian porters, were killed, and three other soldiers were injured.

The Army’s Northern Command chief, Lt. Gen. M.V. Suchinder Kumar, has complimented the White Knight Corps for its “swift action and precise execution” in the Asan operation, neutralising three terrorists and recovering war-like stores. He reiterated: “The Indian Army stands by its commitment to keep J&K terror-free”.