Officials believe that at least four to five heavily armed Pakistani terrorists with local support were yesterday involved in the killing of five Army soldiers and injuring as many in the attack at a military patrol truck near the Badnota village of the otherwise peaceful Billawar sub-division of Jammu.
The bullet marks on the attacked truck show that the terrorists not only tossed grenades at the soldiers but also fired from the US made M-4 rifles. They also fired steel coated bullets that have the capability to pierce through the bullet proof vehicles.
Terrorists frequently targeting the Army troops particularly in the Jammu region indicate that the area domination by the security forces needs to be further strengthened to the level of that in Kashmir Valley where the intelligence on movement of terrorists is also up to the
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Intelligence apparatus also needs to be further geared up in the Jammu region where this was the sixth major attack and the second in Kathua district in a month. Earlier, 12 and 13 June, two Pakistani terrorists were killed and a CRPF jawan was martyred in a similar encounter in the district.
Movement of terrorists of the same group was spotted by locals in the upper reaches of the Kathua and Doda districts. A massive search operation has been launched in the area and helicopters and drones were being used to track down the terrorists.
Mortal remains of the five soldiers who died in the attack were airlifted in helicopters to Dehradun in Uttrakhand from the Billawar sub-district hospital where postmortem was conducted on their bodies.
Officers of the Western Command of the Army paid homage to the bravehearts JCO Anand Singh, Havaldar Kamal Singh, Naik Vinod Singh, Rifleman Anuj Negi and Rifleman Adarsh Negi.
Billawar Additional Deputy Commissioner, Vinay Khosla said that eight injured soldiers were brought to the Billawar hospital, out of which, the Army shifted six jawans to military hospital at Pathankot in Punjab.
CRPF and J&K Police Special Operation Group (SOG) have joined the Indian Army in the search operation in the thickly forested area. Sniffer dogs of the Army and CRPF have also been brought in for the search operation.
The authorities have stepped up security for movement of the Amarnath pilgrims on the Jammu-Srinagar highway where the Army, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and J&K police personnel have been deployed along the National Highway.
The Pakistan backed terrorists were now focusing on the Jammu region where since 9 June there have been terror strikes at six places in Reasi, Kathua, Rajouri and Doda in which nine pilgrims and a CRPF jawan were killed. Besides, 43 civilians, a couple of Army soldiers and policemen were injured.
As many as 43 Army soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the Jammu region in the past less than three years. These martyrdoms were recorded since October 11, 2021 when gun battles between terrorists and Army raged for over 10 days in Chamrer and Bhatta Durrian forests falling between Surankote and Mendhar in Poonch district where five soldiers lost their lives signalling revival of terrorism in the Jammu region that had remained peaceful for about 20 years.
Four others attained martyrdom at Bhatta Durrian forests on October 16, 2021. Two of them were JCOs. The terrorists remained untraced. Two more Army jawans sacrificed their lives in Nowshera sector of Rajouri on October 30, 2021.
Five Army soldiers were killed while two suicide bombers were eliminated in a terror attack at Pargal in Darhal area of Rajouri on August 11, 2022. Five Army soldiers were martyred at Bhatta Durrian in Mendhar area of Poonch on April 20, 2023 while exactly a fortnight later five para commandos lost their lives and Major was injured in an IED blast triggered by the terrorists at Kandi in Rajouri district.
On November 22, 2023, five Army personnel, two of them Captains, attained martyrdom while eliminating two foreign terrorists at Bajimaal in Dharamshal area of
Kalakote in Rajouri while five more bravehearts were killed and two others were injured at Dera Ki Gali in Surankote area of Poonch on December 21, 2023.
Kalakote in Rajouri while five more bravehearts were killed and two others were injured at Dera Ki Gali in Surankote area of Poonch on December 21, 2023.
A VDG jawan was killed at Basantgarh in Udhampur district on April 28, 2024, an IAF soldier lost his life on May 4, 2024 at Surankote in Poonch while a CRPF jawan sacrificed his life at Hiranagar in Kathua on June 11, 2024. Five Army jawans, including a JCO, were martyred at Machedi in Billawar area of Kathua district yesterday.