Eleven people have been detained for questioning by police for the well-planned militant attack at Bhatta Durian, Mendher in Poonch in which five soldiers lost their lives on Thursday.
The soldiers, who belonged to the army’s Rashtriya Rifles unit involved in counterinsurgency, lost their lives after militants ambushed the truck they were travelling in. The militants sprayed the truck with a volley of bullets and lobbed grenades that resulted in the bursting of the fuel tank of the vehicle sparking a blaze that engulfed the truck.
It is the second attack on the army after the October 2021 attack in which nine soldiers including two junior commissioned officers were killed. The militants remained untraced after they escaped into the nearby forests.
After Thursday’s attack, senior police and army officials visited the spot. A massive search operation was launched in the area to trace the perpetrators. The security forces also deployed drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs to track down the perpetrators. On Friday, teams of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), State Investigation Agency (SIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and top police officials including DGP Dilbag Singh and Additional DGP Mukesh Singh visited the spot for investigations and reviewed the situation with top Army officials.
After the initial investigation, it emerged that militants used steel core bullets for maximum impact. Such bullets were also used by militants in the Upper Dhangri attack in which seven civilians, including minors, were killed. The steel core bullets were first used by militants in a 'fidayeen' attack during a December 31, 2017, 'fidayeen' attack on a CRPF camp at Lethpora, Pampore in Pulwama in which four CRPF men were killed.
The security forces also believe that the attack was carried out by a group of three to four well-trained militants. Though the responsibility for the attack has been taken by a lesser-known People’s Anti-Fascist Front, security forces believe the attack is the handiwork of Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT) or Jaish-e-Muhammad(JeM).
The security forces are also looking at the possibility of whether the militants used magnetic or sticky bombs in the attack.
The security forces believe that the attackers were present in the area for some time and have good knowledge of the area. There are three to four militant groups, including the Ghaznavi Force, in the area. The NIA will likely take over the investigations into the attack to find out who carried out the deadly strike.
