4 Pak ultras killed in Poonch encounter; arms recovered

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, July 18

Four Pakistani terrorists armed with AK rifles were on Tuesday killed in a joint operation by the Army and the police in the Surankote area of Poonch district.

The Army said the operation had thwarted a possible strike on civilians in Poonch and adjoining Rajouri district, which has witnessed terror attacks in recent past.

Poonch is one of the major crossing points for Pakistani terrorists as the district lies along Line of Control (LoC).

Arms and ammunition were also recovered from their possession.

After the Army received intelligence inputs, a search operation was launched in Sindarah and Maidana villages last evening.

Brigadier MP Singh, commander of the Surankote sector (6 Sector), Rashtriya Rifle, said the Army had been continuing its search operation in the area for the past three months. “Inputs were received on July 16 regarding presence of terrorists in Surankote after which the area was cordoned off. There were inputs about presence in militants in Sindarah village. Based on the information, an operation was launched by the Army and Special Operations Group (SOG) of the J&K Police on Monday,” he said.

The Army had been continuing searches in the area since an ambush on an Army truck by terrorists near Bhimber Gali in Poonch on April 20 in which five soldiers were killed. “Special Forces of the Army were also part of the operation. Terrorists tried to take cover of foliage and rough terrain and fired indiscriminately but were eliminated in a well-coordinated operation between the Army and the police,” the commander said.

On Monday, security forces had foiled a major infiltration bid along the LoC in the Krishna Ghati area of Poonch and neutralised two terrorists.

Brigadier Singh said intermittent fire continued till about 5.30 am on Tuesday. “In the morning, a detailed search was carried out during which a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered. Four AK rifles with Chinese marking and four pistols with Pakistani marking among other ammunition were recovered from the terrorists,” he said. He said that the terrorists could have carried out major terror attacks in coming days. “This operation has resulted in saving many lives,” said the officer.

Senior Superintendent of Police Vinay Sharma said multiple inputs had been received by security forces in recent past regarding presence of a group of terrorists in the region. The identity of the terrorists has not been ascertained so far.

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