Security forces have launched a big operation to track the militants involved in the attack on an army truck at Bhata Dhurian, Mendher in Poonch, in which five soldiers were killed, and one was injured on Thursday.
Traffic has been suspended from Bhimber Gali to Surankote to facilitate the operation. Commuters have been advised to adopt alternative routes, including Bhimber Gali-Mendhar-Jarran Wali Gali to Surankote-Poonch or via Krishna Ghati to Poonch.
Senior army and police officers from Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu reached the site late Thursday evening for on-spot investigations. The deployment of forces has been made in several villages, including Bhata Dhurian, Nar forest, Sanjiote, and Kotan which have been cordoned, and searches are going on to track down the perpetrators of the attack.
The deceased army soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations. They were identified as Havaldar Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh, Sepoy Harkrishan Singh, Sepoy Sevak Singh and Lance Naik Debashish Baswal. Their bodies will be sent to their hometowns on Friday after the completion of legal formalities.
During the attack, the truck caught fire sparked by the firing at the fuel tank of the vehicle. The army said the fire was caused by the grenades lobbed by militants at the truck. The well-planned attack was carried out by militants taking advantage of the bad weather, and hiding behind the vegetation. The ambush gave no time for the soldiers to retaliate due to firing, lobbing of grenades, and the blaze from the fuel tank that engulfed the vehicle.
Locals rushed out of their homes after hearing explosions in the area and also assisted security forces in dousing the fire.
It is the second major militant attack on the army in the area by militants after the October 2021 attack in which nine soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were killed.
The militants had remained untraced after the army launched an operation that continued for several weeks. The attack comes after the killing of seven civilians by two foreign militants on January 1 at Upper Dhangri in Rajouri, including two minors.
Of late, the Poonch-Rajouri districts bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have been increasingly targeted by militants, indicating the revival of militants in the two districts to some extent. Though a robust counterinsurgency grid is in place in the two districts, occasional infiltration by foreigners does happen. After the attack, Army Chief General Manoj Pande met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and briefed him about the killing of the five soldiers.
The attack happened at a time when the Jammu and Kashmir Government is preparing to host the maiden G20 meeting in Srinagar from May 22 to 25. Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting regarding security arrangements for the prestigious event. The Army Commanders’ Conference (ACC) is also going on in New Delhi to deliberate on the country’s internal and external security. It will conclude on Friday. The conference, addressed by Rajnath Singh, discussed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir security, and the situation along the Line of Control (LoC)
