Jammu Kashmir News: A convoy of Army vehicles came under attack from suspected terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday evening. Officials said the terrorists opened fire upon an Army convoy in a forest area of the border district at around 6 PM in the evening, prompting the security forces to launch a search operation in the region.
There were no casualties among the security personnel, they said.
“At around 1800 hours today, a security forces convoy of vehicles was fired upon by suspected terrorists from a jungle near Krishna Ghati in Poonch sector,” the White Night Corps of the Army said on X.
“A joint search operation by the Indian Army and police is in progress,” it said.
#WATCH | J&K: Security heightened in Poonch after suspected terrorists fired upon a Security Forces convoy of vehicles.
No casualties to own troops. Joint search Operations by Indian Army and Jammu & Kashmir Police are in progress: White Knight Corps of Indian Army pic.twitter.com/EcZOHsnHYF
— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2024
The vehicles that came under attack were carrying security personnel back to the camp, the officials said.
A senior police officer said no one was injured in the incident and the commanding officer as well as other Army personnel were safe, adding that a search operation has been launched in the area.
STORY | Suspected terrorists fire upon Army vehicles in J-K's Poonch; no one injured
READ | https://t.co/yfmAespVug
VIDEO | Security stepped up in Poonch after suspected terrorists fired upon a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel earlier today. pic.twitter.com/5mlKmG4fW8
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 12, 2024
The incident came after a high-level security meeting chaired by Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi to chart out an anti-terror operation plan for the new year to foil the design of terrorists in the region.
Terror resurgence in Rajouri-Poonch sector
A similar ambush on Army vehicles took place in Poonch’s Dhatya Morh in the Dera Ki Gali area on December 21. Four Army personnel were killed in the attack.
Rajouri and Poonch districts, which were peaceful in the past, have witnessed targeted attacks by the terrorists on the army and civilians, they said.
Nineteen soldiers were killed in four attacks by the terrorists in Rajouri and Poonch in 2023. However, the security forces eliminated more than 30 terrorists in the two districts last year both on the Line of Control as well as in the hinterland.
During the last fortnight, high-level security meetings were chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to deal with the situation in the Rajouri-Poonch region.
Terror hideout busted in Rajouri
On Thursday, the CRPF busted a terrorist hideout during a cordon-and-search operation (CASO) in nearby Rajouri district and recovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) fitted in tiffin boxes and about two dozen bullets of AK series assault rifles.
A CASO was launched by the soldiers of the C company of the 237th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the border town following inputs generated by the intelligence wing of the force deployed in the Jammu region, officials said.
They said that CRPF troops, along with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted the joint operation in the Hayatpura-Manjakot area of the district and during searches, four IEDs concealed in tiffin boxes, 23 live bullets of AK assault rifles, a wireless set and a tape recorder were recovered.
‘Matter of concern’, says Army chief
Speaking on the recent uptick in terrorist activities in the Poonch-Rajouri sector, Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Thursday said that the situation in the last 5–6 months has been an “issue of concern”.
General Pande asserted that India’s adversaries are encouraging proxy wars in the area as they are unable to digest peace and normalcy in the Kashmir valley.
“The situation and terrorist activities in Rajouri and Poonch in the last 5–6 months have been an issue of concern to us. By 2003, terrorism in this area was fully disseminated and peace was established there until 2017–18. Because peace is coming in the valley, our adversaries are encouraging proxy wars in the area. The Pakistan Army is trying to aggregate terrorism in the Rajouri Poonch area.” CoAS General Manoj Pande said while the annual press conference ahead of Army Day on January 15.
‘Terror infra continues’
The army chief said the ceasefire along the Line of Control continues to hold, even though there have been infiltration attempts which the army had successfully foiled,
“As far as the situation in JK is concerned, the ceasefire understanding along the LoC continues to hold. Even though we see infiltration attempts, which we have been able to thwart… We have a strong anti-drone mechanism in place to stop the use of drones to smuggle weapons and narcotics,” General Pande said.
However, without name-dropping Pakistan, the Army chief said that the support for terrorist infrastructure continues from across the border.
“The area of Rajouri Poonch has seen increased terrorist activities. Support infrastructure for proxy tandems in the Rajouri Poonch sector from across the border continues…” added the army chief.
(With inputs from agencies)
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