Two Indian Army soldiers lost their lives in the terror attack on the Sunjuwan military camp in Jammu even as IAF para commandos from Udhampur have been called in to flush out the holed up terrorists. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is closely monitoring the situation.
The two Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) succumbed to injuries sustained after the group of four to five heavily armed militants hurled grenades and fired indiscriminately with automatic weapons while entering from the rear side of Sunjuwan Military Station where family quarters are located, police said.
At least seven people, including an Army personnel’s daughter, are injured in the attack, officials said.
Amidst a fierce gunbattle to neutralize the cornered militants, para commandos of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have been airlifted to Jammu from Udhampur and Sarsawa, officials said.
Meanwhile, J-K DGP SP Vaid has briefed the home minister about the counter operations launched by the security forces while Rajnath has directed officials of the Home Ministry to look into the matter.
IGP SD Singh Jamwal told reporters here that “around 4:55 am suspicious movement was noticed by the sentry and his bunker was fired upon. The fire was retaliated. The number of militants isn’t known. They’ve been cornered in one of the family quarters.”
Security forces and police have cordoned off the area around the Sunjuwan Army camp that falls under the first Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry in 36 Brigade.
Soon after the attack, reinforcements of the Army s special forces and SOG rushed to the spot and cordoned off the whole area amid a fierce gunfight, security official said.
Schools in the entire area around the camp have been closed by authorities as a precautionary measure.
A high alert has been sounded in Jammu and security beefed up in and around the city.
Intelligence inputs had warned of an attack on the Army or security establishment by Jaish-e-Mohammed in view of the death anniversary of Afzal Guru who was hanged on February 9, 2013.
Militants had attacked the same army station in 2006. Twelve soldiers were killed and seven others were injured in that attack before the two ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) terrorists were killed.
(With inputs from agencies)