Massive combing and search operations were launched on Tuesday by the Indian Army, along with a team from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police, to pin down the perpetrators behind the ‘audacious terror attack’ on two Army vehicles. Five soldiers sacrificed their lives repulsing the attack near Badnota village of Machhedi in the Billawar tehsil of Kathua district on Monday.
The Army’s elite para-commandos and sniffer dogs also joined the search operation while drones and helicopters were pressed into service for surveillance. Some of the eyewitnesses were also questioned by the security forces to gather more information about the group of suspected foreign terrorists.
It is learned some of the villagers in the area had spotted suspicious movement of outsiders in the area but failed to timely inform the local police or other agencies for necessary follow-up action.
Director General of Police R R Swain also flew to the area to oversee the operation on the ground. Accompanied by ADGP Anand Jain, DGP Swain conducted an aerial survey of the area and reviewed the ongoing operations.
A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials has been sent to Kathua in the Jammu region to extend all possible support to the police in its investigation. So far the probe agency has not registered a case to investigate the terrorist attack.
The scope of the search operations was expanded to encompass large areas in the adjoining districts of Udhampur and Kathua, including Basantgarh, Seoj (a high-altitude area in Udhampur), and the upper reaches of Bani, Daggar, and Kindli in Kathua district.
Reacting strongly in New Delhi, the Indian Government also sent out a stern warning claiming the sacrifices made by the soldiers in the Kathua ambush will not go ‘unavenged’. India will defeat the evil forces behind the attack.
Since October 11, 2021, 43 bravehearts have sacrificed their lives in different terror attacks and encounters in the Jammu region.
The counter-terrorist operations were temporarily stalled late Monday evening due to bad weather conditions. The suspected group of foreign terrorists also fled the spot taking advantage of the darkness and bad weather conditions.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of the martyred soldiers identified as Nb Sub Anand Singh, Hav Kamal Singh, Nk Vinod Singh, Rfn Anuj Negi & Rfn Adarsh Negi were dispatched to their native places after paying homage to them at the wreath-laying ceremony in the Western Command.
The Spokesperson of the Indian Army in a post on X (earlier Twitter) said, “Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and all Ranks of the Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of Bravehearts who laid down their lives in the line of duty. Indian Army offers its deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief”.
The Chief Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, President Droupadi Murmu Tuesday termed the terrorist attack on an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir a “cowardly act” and said it deserved condemnation and firm counter-measures.
In a post on X, Murmu said, “My sympathies are with the families of the bravehearts who laid down their lives in this ongoing war against terror in its all forms. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also reacted to the terror attack on Tuesday, Singh said he was “deeply anguished” over the death of five Army personnel in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.
Singh said counter-terror operations are underway and the soldiers are determined to “usher in peace and order” in the region.
Extending deepest condolences to the bereaved families Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said, “Their selfless service to the nation will always be remembered and their sacrifice will not go unavenged and India will defeat the evil forces behind the attack.”
Aramane’s remarks were shared on ‘X’ by a spokesperson of the Defence Ministry.
Meanwhile, angry residents and political workers hit the streets across Jammu as India woke up to the gory images of blood-stained army vehicles in which the soldiers were traveling at the time of the ambush.
Lawyers from the Jammu Bar Association held a protest against the terror attack on an army patrol in Kathua, calling it an act of cowardice by Pakistan-based terrorists.
Media teams were permitted to visit the ambush site on Tuesday to capture the telltale signs of mayhem on ground zero.
On their arrival, the media teams witnessed the spot where the entire road stretch was littered with bloodstains, empty bullet cartridges, army vehicles with shattered windscreens and flattened tyres. The tarpaulin sheet, used to cover the rear portion of the army truck, was also full of perforations and was torn apart. Preliminary reports suggested before opening indiscriminate firing from different directions on the army trucks the terrorists also lobbed grenades to distract the truck drivers.
A villager Puran Chand Sharma, who runs a shop in the area told media persons, “A civil bus passed the road about 10 minutes before the attack. We heard a loud explosion and initially took it as a tyre burst but the subsequent heavy firing made us realize that an encounter had started,”
The heavy firing continued till 5 pm followed by intermittent firing for another hour. “About 12 villagers were at my shop. We hid ourselves inside to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. After the firing stopped, we rushed to help evacuate the casualties,” he said.
Vijay Kumar, another local, said this is the first terror incident in the village since cross-border terrorism broke out in Jammu and Kashmir over three decades ago.
Till the time of filing the report, another encounter broke out between the security forces and the terrorists in the Doda district on Tuesday. A police spokesman said, “An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in Goli-Gadi forests in the upper reaches of Doda district. More details to follow”.
Mohit Kandhari n Jammu
Massive combing and search operations were launched on Tuesday by the Indian Army, along with a team from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police, to pin down the perpetrators behind the ‘audacious terror attack’ on two Army vehicles. Five soldiers sacrificed their lives repulsing the attack near Badnota village of Machhedi in the Billawar tehsil of Kathua district on Monday.
The Army’s elite para-commandos and sniffer dogs also joined the search operation while drones and helicopters were pressed into service for surveillance. Some of the eyewitnesses were also questioned by the security forces to gather more information about the group of suspected foreign terrorists.
It is learned some of the villagers in the area had spotted suspicious movement of outsiders in the area but failed to timely inform the local police or other agencies for necessary follow-up action.
Director General of Police R R Swain also flew to the area to oversee the operation on the ground. Accompanied by ADGP Anand Jain, DGP Swain conducted an aerial survey of the area and reviewed the ongoing operations.
A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials has been sent to Kathua in the Jammu region to extend all possible support to the police in its investigation. So far the probe agency has not registered a case to investigate the terrorist attack.
The scope of the search operations was expanded to encompass large areas in the adjoining districts of Udhampur and Kathua, including Basantgarh, Seoj (a high-altitude area in Udhampur), and the upper reaches of Bani, Daggar, and Kindli in Kathua district.
Reacting strongly in New Delhi, the Indian Government also sent out a stern warning claiming the sacrifices made by the soldiers in the Kathua ambush will not go ‘unavenged’. India will defeat the evil forces behind the attack.
Since October 11, 2021, 43 bravehearts have sacrificed their lives in different terror attacks and encounters in the Jammu region.
The counter-terrorist operations were temporarily stalled late Monday evening due to bad weather conditions. The suspected group of foreign terrorists also fled the spot taking advantage of the darkness and bad weather conditions.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of the martyred soldiers identified as Nb Sub Anand Singh, Hav Kamal Singh, Nk Vinod Singh, Rfn Anuj Negi & Rfn Adarsh Negi were dispatched to their native places after paying homage to them at the wreath-laying ceremony in the Western Command.
The Spokesperson of the Indian Army in a post on X (earlier Twitter) said, “Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and all Ranks of the Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of Bravehearts who laid down their lives in the line of duty. Indian Army offers its deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief”.
The Chief Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, President Droupadi Murmu Tuesday termed the terrorist attack on an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir a “cowardly act” and said it deserved condemnation and firm counter-measures.
In a post on X, Murmu said, “My sympathies are with the families of the bravehearts who laid down their lives in this ongoing war against terror in its all forms. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also reacted to the terror attack on Tuesday, Singh said he was “deeply anguished” over the death of five Army personnel in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.
Singh said counter-terror operations are underway and the soldiers are determined to “usher in peace and order” in the region.
Extending deepest condolences to the bereaved families Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said, “Their selfless service to the nation will always be remembered and their sacrifice will not go unavenged and India will defeat the evil forces behind the attack.”
Aramane’s remarks were shared on ‘X’ by a spokesperson of the Defence Ministry.
Meanwhile, angry residents and political workers hit the streets across Jammu as India woke up to the gory images of blood-stained army vehicles in which the soldiers were traveling at the time of the ambush.
Lawyers from the Jammu Bar Association held a protest against the terror attack on an army patrol in Kathua, calling it an act of cowardice by Pakistan-based terrorists.
Media teams were permitted to visit the ambush site on Tuesday to capture the telltale signs of mayhem on ground zero.
On their arrival, the media teams witnessed the spot where the entire road stretch was littered with bloodstains, empty bullet cartridges, army vehicles with shattered windscreens and flattened tyres. The tarpaulin sheet, used to cover the rear portion of the army truck, was also full of perforations and was torn apart. Preliminary reports suggested before opening indiscriminate firing from different directions on the army trucks the terrorists also lobbed grenades to distract the truck drivers.
A villager Puran Chand Sharma, who runs a shop in the area told media persons, “A civil bus passed the road about 10 minutes before the attack. We heard a loud explosion and initially took it as a tyre burst but the subsequent heavy firing made us realize that an encounter had started,”
The heavy firing continued till 5 pm followed by intermittent firing for another hour. “About 12 villagers were at my shop. We hid ourselves inside to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. After the firing stopped, we rushed to help evacuate the casualties,” he said.
Vijay Kumar, another local, said this is the first terror incident in the village since cross-border terrorism broke out in Jammu and Kashmir over three decades ago.
Till the time of filing the report, another encounter broke out between the security forces and the terrorists in the Doda district on Tuesday. A police spokesman said, “An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in Goli-Gadi forests in the upper reaches of Doda district. More details to follow”.
