Poonch: One soldier was killed, and 4 Indian Air Force troopers have been injured in a terror assault within the Poonch district of the Jammu area. A convoy of the Indian Air Force was attacked by terrorists within the Surankote space of Poonch district on Saturday night. All 5 injured troopers have been evacuated to the Army’s base hospital, the place one soldier succumbed to his accidents.
Security forces, together with the Indian military and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, rushed to the spot the place terrorists opened heavy fireplace on the IAF convoy. An enormous cordon and search operation was launched by the forces to apprehend the attackers within the space. Initial experiences counsel that two terrorists have been concerned within the assault.
This is the primary main assault within the area this yr, as Poonch and Rajouri noticed a number of assaults final yr. Security forces have been on excessive alert since then and have prevented any main assaults. The whole Poonch district has now been placed on excessive alert.
The assault came about within the Shah Sattar forest space, which is densely lined with timber and falls between Surankote’s Sanai Top and Mendhar’s Gursai space of the border Poonch district.
This is the primary main assault on the armed forces this yr within the area, which witnessed a collection of terror assaults on the military final yr. Visuals from the assault website confirmed a minimum of a dozen bullet holes on the windscreen of the automobile that got here below fireplace.
Sources stated the injured air warriors have been airlifted to Command Hospital Udhampur from Poonch inside half an hour of the assault, whereas the opposite automobiles of the convoy had been secured and safely reached their vacation spot.
In a press release, the Indian Air Force stated, “In the ensuing gunfight with terrorists, the Air Warriors fought back by returning fire. In the process, five IAF personnel received bullet injuries and were evacuated to the nearest military hospital for immediate medical attention. One Air Warrior succumbed to his injuries later. Further operations are underway by the local security forces.”
Sources stated a combing and search operation had been ongoing within the space between Mendhar and adjoining Surankote for the previous few days following experiences of motion of terrorists. During the searches, terrorists opened fireplace on a automobile carrying Air Force personnel. The latter retaliated, and within the ensuing firefight, 5 personnel have been injured. Reinforcements of police and safety forces have been rushed to the realm as quickly as experiences of the assault got here in.
A cordon and search operation has been initiated by the native Rashtriya Rifles unit to apprehend the perpetrators. The space has been cordoned off, and searches are in progress, sources stated.
This is the second militant assault within the Pir Panjal area, unfold over Rajouri and Poonch districts, within the final 12 days. A 40-year-old authorities worker was killed after unknown terrorists had opened fireplace on him close to the Shahdra Sharief space of Thanamandi on April 22. The man was recognized as Mohammad Raziq of Kunda Top, and his brother was reportedly a soldier within the Territorial Army.
On December 21, 4 troopers had died in a terror assault on the Mughal Road between Dehra Ki Gali and Bufliaz in Poonch. In view of the upcoming parliamentary elections within the space, safety forces and police have already launched cordon and search operations on a large scale to flush out terrorists and their sympathizers. A number of days earlier than the Shahdra Sharief assault, the police and safety forces, in a joint operation, had apprehended a faculty headmaster from the Hari Buddha space of Poonch and seized a Pakistan-made pistol together with ammunition in addition to two Chinese grenades from his home.
Poonch is a part of the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls within the sixth section on May 25. Meanwhile, safety and searches have intensified in Kathua, Doda, Udhampur, and Kishtwar after unknown terrorists killed a Village Security Guard on April 28 in Basantghar.
