A massive cordon and search operation was launched in Khanetar area of the border Poonch district this evening when an Army convoy, including the vehicle of a commanding officer, was attacked by terrorists.

Terrorists tried to ambush the convoy near the Line of Control (LoC) by firing from the hilltop where they had taken up positions, reports said. Two to three rounds were fired at the convoy and the terrorists fled after the troops retaliated.

As per the reports, the convoy was moving from Daradhullian Khwadia area of Poonch and the commanding officer of Army’s Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was also travelling in his vehicle when terrorists fired bullets at them. Reinforcements of security forces have reached the spot.

A statement issued by the White Knight Corps said; “At around 6 pm today, a security forces convoy of vehicles was fired upon by suspected terrorists from a jungle near Krishna Ghati in Poonch Sector. No casualties to own troops. Joint search operations by Indian Army and J&K Police are in progress.”

The attack came hours after the Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi and GOC of 16 Corps Lt General Navin Sachdeva visited forward areas of Rajouri district to finalise the strategy to tackle with terrorism in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.

It is worth mentioning that in a similar modus operandi, terrorists had on 21 December ambushed Army vehicles in the Rajouri Sector and killed four soldiers. Earlier they ambushed an Army truck in Poonch and killed five soldiers.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in separate meetings recently reviewed the situation in the twin districts. Army Chief General Manoj Pande visited the area recently.

Northern Army Commander Lt General Dwivedi this morning visited forward areas in the Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness in light of the prevailing security situation.

A comprehensive review was carried out with the officers of Counter Insurgency Force (R), CIF (R), CIF (D) and Ace of Spades Division on the operational dynamics of 2023 and the prevailing security situation along the LOC and the hinterland at HQ CIF (R) and Reasi.

Reviewing the complete pattern of terrorism, the Army Commander underscored the need for a deep understanding of the evolving landscape. He also outlined the ‘Strat 24’ for operational focus in the year 2024 to defeat the inimical designs of our adversary and sponsored terrorists.

He also chaired a ‘Security Review Meeting’ wherein, he appreciated the excellent synergy among security forces, J&K Police, CRPF, Intelligence Agencies and Civil Administration. Noteworthy discussions with DGP J&K, RR Swain, ADG Law & Order, Vijay Kumar, ADGP (Jammu) Anand Jain & IG CRPF Sanjeev Khirwar took place, contributing to the revitalization of operations planned for 2024.

All stakeholders assured to work in synergy to achieve the desired end state, eradicating roots of terrorism in the Poonch – Rajouri Area.
Accompanied by White Knight Corps Commander Lt General Sachdeva, the Army Commander also visited a forward post in the Rajouri Sector where he was briefed on the operational preparedness of the units deployed along LoC.

He urged the troops to continue working with zeal and dedication to ensure a stable security environment for the developmental activities to continue at the same pace.