After Poonch ambush, ultras decamped with jawans’ arms

Jammu, April 23

The terrorists who ambushed a military truck in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch killing five soldiers also decamped with the weapons of the deceased Army men.

The truck, carrying food and fruits for an Iftar party at Sangiote village, came under heavy firing around 3 pm on April 20. The terrorists used steel core bullets, capable of piercing an armoured shield. Reports suggested that the group comprised a sniper, who targeted the Army truck’s driver from a distance on a nearby hill. Other terrorists sprayed bullets, killing the soldiers inside the vehicle as they did not get time to retaliate.

Action underway, says Lt Gen Dwivedi

• Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi met an injured soldier in the Army’s Udhampur hospital and said necessary action had been underway against the perpetrators of the Poonch attack.
• The Rajouri-Poonch highway, which had been closed since the terrorist attack on April 20, has been thrown open for commuters.
• Two soldiers died of burns and three of bullet injuries in the attack.

It is believed that before fleeing the attack site, the terrorists took away the guns of the soldiers of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) unit. Bhimber Gali and Bhata Dhurian near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch are known for natural caves and thick vegetation, which can easily give cover to the terrorists for days. In October 2021, nine soldiers were killed during a search operation to eliminate terrorists who had infiltrated from Pakistan.

Experts from various agencies, including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have visited the attack site over the past two days and have managed to get a clear picture of the deadly ambush laid by the terrorists, officials said. It has been learnt that the terrorists fired bullets from three sides on the vehicle when they found it to be alone. There was no convoy of trucks, which would have given other soldiers an opportunity to engage with the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) of the Northern Command, visited the Army’s Command Hospital in Udhampur to meet a soldier who sustained injuries in the attack. In a statement, the Northern Command stated that the commander interacted with the survivor and assured that necessary action was underway.

The Rajouri-Poonch highway, which had been closed since the terrorist attack on April 20, was thrown open for commuters on Sunday after the investigators from different agencies visited the spot and analysed it.

A search operation by the Army and the police continued in forest areas of Bhimber Gali and Bhata Dhurian in Poonch even on Sunday even as there was no sign of the terrorists involved in the attack. As per reports, there were nearly 5-6 terrorists involved in the attack who fled the spot after the incident. It has been learnt that while two soldiers died of burns, three died due to bullet injuries. It is believed that the fuel tank of the truck caught fire due to which the truck burnt.

30 questioned

At least 30 persons, including a woman, have been detained so far for questioning. A search operation is still going on in the forest areas of Bhimber Gali and Bhata Dhurian in Poonch district.