May 4th 2024.
In a tragic turn of events, a soldier lost his life and four others were injured in an ambush by terrorists on an Indian Air Force convoy in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. This incident occurred just three weeks before the upcoming polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency on May 25.
The targeted area, Poonch, is a part of the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency where the sixth phase of polling will take place. According to officials, the attack took place in the evening when four terrorists opened fire on the IAF vehicles that were heading towards Sanai Top in Surankot area of Poonch. Five security personnel were injured, two of them critically, in the gunfire.
Despite being rushed to a nearby military hospital for treatment, one of the critically injured soldiers eventually succumbed to his injuries. The Indian Air Force released a statement saying that their vehicle convoy was attacked by militants in the Poonch district near Shahsitar. The area is currently being searched by the local military units.
During the attack, the IAF personnel retaliated and engaged in a gunfight with the terrorists. In the process, five of them sustained bullet injuries and were immediately transported to a military hospital. Sadly, one of them could not survive. The IAF further stated that the area is being secured and investigations are underway.
The ambush occurred around 6:15 pm as the troops were returning to the air force station from Jaranwali. The officials believe that the same group of terrorists who attacked the soldiers in Bufliaz on December 21 last year may be involved in this attack as well. Four soldiers had lost their lives and three were injured in that incident.
The truck that bore the maximum impact of the attack had its windscreen and side damaged by several bullets. The terrorists, armed with AK assault rifles, are suspected to have fled into the nearby forests, as reported by officials. The Army and police have launched a massive search operation to track down and neutralize the attackers, with no contact being made with them so far.
In a separate operation, the police, assisted by paramilitary forces, had been conducting searches in Poonch town since Friday after receiving information about the movement of suspicious individuals. However, no arrests were made during this operation.
Poonch, along with the adjoining Rajouri district, has witnessed several major terrorist attacks in the past two years, indicating a resurgence of terror activities in the once peaceful region. The most recent attack in the Pir Panjal region was the killing of a government employee, Mohd Razaq, by terrorists on April 22 in Rajouri's Kunda Top. Another village defense guard, Mohd Sharief, was also killed by terrorists in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur on April 28.
Police have released pictures of two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, including a suspected Pakistani national, Abu Hamza, who are believed to be involved in Razaq's murder. A reward of Rs 10 lakh has been announced for any information that leads to the arrest of these terrorists.
The Bufliaz ambush in December last year occurred shortly after a major gunfight in the Dharmsal belt of Bajimaal forest in Rajouri, which claimed the lives of five Army personnel, including two captains. Two terrorists, one of them being a top LeT commander, were also killed in the two-day encounter. The commander was responsible for various attacks, including the killing of 10 civilians and five Army personnel in the district.
The stretch between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz is densely forested and leads to Chamrer forest and then Bhata Dhurian forest, where another ambush attack on an Army vehicle took place on April 20 last year, resulting in the death of five soldiers. In May last year, five more Army personnel lost their lives, and a major-rank officer was injured in Chamrer forest during an anti-terrorist operation. One foreign terrorist was also killed in the operation.
In 2022, five Army personnel were killed in a suicide attack by terrorists on their camp in Pargal, located in the Darhal area of Rajouri district. The two terrorists involved in the attack were eliminated. In 2021, nine soldiers lost their lives in two separate attacks by terrorists in the forested region. Five Army personnel were killed on October 11 in Chamrer, and four more, including a junior commissioned officer, were killed on October 14 in a nearby forest.
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