Army jawan, civilian injured in terror attack in J&K’s Rajouri
22 July 2024 1:34 PM IST
Following the spike in terror attacks in the Jammu region, massive search and counter-terrorism operations are being spearheaded by the Army (Representational image: PTI)
SRINAGAR: An Army jawan and a civilian sustained minor injuries in exchange of fire during a failed terror attack on the house of a Village Defence Guard (VDG) in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier Rajouri district overnight, officials said on Monday.
They said that a group of militants targeted the house of the VDG Shaurya Chakra awardee Parshotam Kumar in Gundah Village of tehsil Budhal in Rajouri at around 3.10 am. An Army column deployed in the vicinity of the village rushed to the spot and foiled the attack.
The Army’s Nagrota (Jammu)-based 1Corps-also called White Knight Corps- wrote on ‘X’, “Op Gunda: Terrorists attacked the house of a VDC at Gunda, Rajouri at 0310h. A nearby Army column reacted and a firefight ensued. Operations are continuing.”
The reports said that in the exchange of fire, one Army jawan and a relative of the VDG identified as Vijay Kumar were injured. They were rushed to the nearest medical facility where their condition is stated to be “stable”.
The officials said that three to four militants are trapped in the area after being encircled by the Army with the arrival of reinforcements.
Following the spike in terror attacks in the Jammu region, massive search and counter-terrorism operations are being spearheaded by the Army alongside the J&K police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in vast areas of Doda, Udhampur, Reasi, Kathua, Poonch and Rajouri districts. At places, dozens of VDGs, armed with mainly .303 rifles, are helping the security forces in hunting down the assailants.
The Army’s Northern Command has vowed to eliminate the “scourge of terrorism” in J&K and said that it has relentlessly been conducting a series of joint and coordinated operations with the local police to hunt down and eliminate foreign terrorists.
These foreign terrorists, it said, have infiltrated from across the border and are moving in the upper reaches of Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts and then sneaking into the Kashmir Valley.
At the weekend, the Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi held a series of meetings with the local Army commanders and senior officers of the J&K police, Border Security Force (BSF), the CAPFs and intelligence agencies to review the progress of counterterrorism operations. He also gave instructions to the officers to act tough against militants and their supporting foreign mercenaries and eliminate the ‘scourge of terrorism’ by all means. He asked the officers to take more effective counter-terrorism measures and also combat terrorist ideologies.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also chaired a high-level meeting with the Army Chief, various heads of security and law enforcement agencies including BSF, CRPF and other CAPFs, the J&K police and various intelligence agencies on the prevailing security situation in the Jammu region at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Saturday evening.
The Lt. Governor asked the officers to pro-actively conduct coordinated counter-terrorism operations in the Jammu region. An official release had quoted him as saying, “We must launch meticulous and well-planned counter-terrorism operations with greater synergy between all the agencies to wipe out terrorists and those aiding and abetting them.” He also called for further strengthening the security grid in the hinterland and counter-infiltration grid along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) with Pakistan to ensure zero cross-border infiltration.
The sources said that the Centre has asked the J&K government and the security forces to scale up counter-terrorism engagement in the Jammu region by strictly following the strategy and practical steps that succeeded in crushing the militancy and terrorism to a greater scale in the Kashmir Valley. The counter-militancy and combat terrorism model pursued in the Valley envisaged ‘eliminate the combatants and take no prisoners, destroy or take hold of private properties used by militants as hideouts or for planning or carrying out terrorist acts, book their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers under anti-terrorism and other tough laws and identify, track, and pursue their other supporting networks particularly terrorism financing’.
The Centre has also asked for strengthening the existing VDGs and involving more people, particularly ex-servicemen, in the counterterrorism campaign in the Jammu region. Already, a number of measures have been initiated to enhance synergy between various agencies. These include joint training involving the Army, the J&K police and CAPFs. Further, a robust intelligence sharing mechanism between the uniformed forms and the intelligence agencies has been evolved.
The Army is inducting 3,000 additional troops and 500 para commandos before launching an “Operation All Out” against the militants in the Jammu region, a media report said.
They said that a group of militants targeted the house of the VDG Shaurya Chakra awardee Parshotam Kumar in Gundah Village of tehsil Budhal in Rajouri at around 3.10 am. An Army column deployed in the vicinity of the village rushed to the spot and foiled the attack.
The Army’s Nagrota (Jammu)-based 1Corps-also called White Knight Corps- wrote on ‘X’, “Op Gunda: Terrorists attacked the house of a VDC at Gunda, Rajouri at 0310h. A nearby Army column reacted and a firefight ensued. Operations are continuing.”
The reports said that in the exchange of fire, one Army jawan and a relative of the VDG identified as Vijay Kumar were injured. They were rushed to the nearest medical facility where their condition is stated to be “stable”.
The officials said that three to four militants are trapped in the area after being encircled by the Army with the arrival of reinforcements.
Following the spike in terror attacks in the Jammu region, massive search and counter-terrorism operations are being spearheaded by the Army alongside the J&K police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in vast areas of Doda, Udhampur, Reasi, Kathua, Poonch and Rajouri districts. At places, dozens of VDGs, armed with mainly .303 rifles, are helping the security forces in hunting down the assailants.
The Army’s Northern Command has vowed to eliminate the “scourge of terrorism” in J&K and said that it has relentlessly been conducting a series of joint and coordinated operations with the local police to hunt down and eliminate foreign terrorists.
These foreign terrorists, it said, have infiltrated from across the border and are moving in the upper reaches of Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar districts and then sneaking into the Kashmir Valley.
At the weekend, the Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi held a series of meetings with the local Army commanders and senior officers of the J&K police, Border Security Force (BSF), the CAPFs and intelligence agencies to review the progress of counterterrorism operations. He also gave instructions to the officers to act tough against militants and their supporting foreign mercenaries and eliminate the ‘scourge of terrorism’ by all means. He asked the officers to take more effective counter-terrorism measures and also combat terrorist ideologies.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also chaired a high-level meeting with the Army Chief, various heads of security and law enforcement agencies including BSF, CRPF and other CAPFs, the J&K police and various intelligence agencies on the prevailing security situation in the Jammu region at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Saturday evening.
The Lt. Governor asked the officers to pro-actively conduct coordinated counter-terrorism operations in the Jammu region. An official release had quoted him as saying, “We must launch meticulous and well-planned counter-terrorism operations with greater synergy between all the agencies to wipe out terrorists and those aiding and abetting them.” He also called for further strengthening the security grid in the hinterland and counter-infiltration grid along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) with Pakistan to ensure zero cross-border infiltration.
The sources said that the Centre has asked the J&K government and the security forces to scale up counter-terrorism engagement in the Jammu region by strictly following the strategy and practical steps that succeeded in crushing the militancy and terrorism to a greater scale in the Kashmir Valley. The counter-militancy and combat terrorism model pursued in the Valley envisaged ‘eliminate the combatants and take no prisoners, destroy or take hold of private properties used by militants as hideouts or for planning or carrying out terrorist acts, book their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers under anti-terrorism and other tough laws and identify, track, and pursue their other supporting networks particularly terrorism financing’.
The Centre has also asked for strengthening the existing VDGs and involving more people, particularly ex-servicemen, in the counterterrorism campaign in the Jammu region. Already, a number of measures have been initiated to enhance synergy between various agencies. These include joint training involving the Army, the J&K police and CAPFs. Further, a robust intelligence sharing mechanism between the uniformed forms and the intelligence agencies has been evolved.
The Army is inducting 3,000 additional troops and 500 para commandos before launching an “Operation All Out” against the militants in the Jammu region, a media report said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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