5 Army jawans killed in J&K as terrorists entrenched in cliff cave detonate bomb

SRINAGAR: Two Army jawans were killed instantly and four others including an officer were injured when a group of ‘highly trained’ militants well entrenched in a cliff cave in Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier district of Rajouri set off an explosive device early Friday.

Three of the injured jawans belonging to the Para (Special Forces) died in a military hospital in the garrison town of Udhampur later during the day, raising the toll to five, the officials said. They added that a fourth critically injured soldier is battling for his life in the hospital.

Reports had said that among those injured was an officer of major’s rank.

Army reinforcements including the members of the Para SF, a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Army, were rushed to Rajouri’s Kesari Kandi area to take on the militants some of whom are believed to have been injured in the initial exchange of fire with the troops.

The Army is being assisted by the J&K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the operation, a report from Rajouri said. The local sources said they spotted several Army helicopters flying over the area till late Friday evening.

The authorities believe the group of militants encircled by joint teams of the Army, the CRPF and the SOG was involved in the April 20 ambush on an Army truck in Bhata Dhurian area of neighbouring Poonch district in which five soldiers were killed and another was critically wounded.

Defence spokesman Lt. Colonel Devender Anand said in winter capital Jammu, “Indian Army columns have been conducting relentless intelligence based operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in Jammu region and at 8 am on Friday when the joint teams of forces approached towards a spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon them, which was retaliated, triggering the encounter.”

The Army in a statement said, “At about 0730 hours today, a search team established contact with a group of terrorists well entrenched in a cave. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs. The terrorists triggered an explosive device in retaliation. The Army team has suffered two fatal casualties with injuries to four more soldiers including an officer."

In another statement, the Army said, “In the ongoing operation in Rajouri sector, three soldiers who were critically injured in the morning have unfortunately succumbed to their injuries.” It added, “The operations are still in progress.”

The Army had soon after the deadly April 20 ambush launched ‘Operation Trinetra’ in the hills of the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri to capture the militants dead or alive. The J&K police and the CRPF too have actively been involved in the campaign.

During the past two weeks, they together conducted massive cordon-and-search-operations covering about 12 areas of the twin districts to track down the militants. The Northern Commander, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, visited the region twice in the past fortnight for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation arising out of this major terror attack in recent months and inquired about the ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the region.

Investigations have revealed that the militants had hid themselves beneath a culvert on the road from where they launched the attack on the Army truck which was carrying fruits, vegetables and other items to Sangiot village from the Bhimber Gali camp for an Iftar party being organised by the Rashtriya Rifles on April 20. “Over 50 bullet marks were spotted on the vehicle that shows intensity of the firing by terrorists”, a police official had said. The slain soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.

A sniper is believed to have targeted the vehicle from the front before his associates showered bullets and lobbed grenades on the vehicle from opposite sides, apparently giving the troops no time to retaliate, the sources said, adding that the assailants used steel coated bullets that can penetrate an armoured shield and before fleeing from the spot they decamped with the soldiers’ arms and ammunition.

While the police and the Army detained over 200 people for questioning, at least six persons including the imam of a local mosque identified as Moulvi Manzoor have been formally arrested on the charges of helping militants.

Experts and investigators from various agencies including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have also visited the site of the attack and questioned some of the suspects.

A 50-year-old resident died soon after consuming poison on being called by the police for questioning in connection with the April 20 terror attack. However, the police had claimed the deceased -Mukhtar Ahmed Shah, a resident of Poonch’s Nar village, was apparently facing mental health issues including depression due to some domestic discord. The police had also said that Shah was not summoned for questioning by the police as a suspect as such in the April 20 terror attack but only as part of the ongoing investigation.

The Army had last week said that during the investigation “a few names of some community came to the fore, which is unbelievable.” In a statement, it had asked the people to keep away from “such type of incidents and activities in the future”, and to “inform and assist the Army” in case they notice any suspicious movement. The Army had blamed Pakistan for the attack saying that after the abolition of Article 370, the neighbouring country “does not want the establishment of peace and government formation in Jammu and Kashmir”

J&K’s DGP Dilbag Singh had said that such an attack “cannot be carried out without local support.”