Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 5: Five soldiers were killed and another injured during an ongoing anti-terrorists operation in the Kandi Forest of Rajouri Sector in the Pir Panjal Valley in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, the army said.
Internet services have been suspended in Rajouri “as a security measure.” Security forces’ contact with hiding militants was established two weeks after five soldiers were killed in a militant ambush in Rajouri.
The Army said an explosive device was triggered when an Army’s search team found out a group of hiding terrorists, who were well-entrenched in a cave in the Kandi forests, around 7.30 a.m. on Friday. In the morning, two Army men belonging to the Special Forces were killed and four, including the major, injured. Later in the day, three died in the Command Hospital in Udhampur.
The Army said there was a likelihood of casualties in the terrorist group. However, no bodies have been retrieved yet. Initial assessments suggest two to four militants could be hiding in the area. “The operation is in progress. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs,” the Army said.
A statement released by Army PRO Lt Colonel Devender Anand said the security forces, in a joint operation, had cordoned off a group of terrorists in the Kandi area of the Kotranka sub-division and the encounter began at around 8 am. “Multiple Indian Army columns have been conducting relentless intelligence based operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in Jammu region which left five soldiers dead and another injured,” it said.
Friday’s operation was launched following specific information about the presence of terrorists in the Kandi Forest. Meanwhile, additional teams of the Army from the vicinity have been directed to the site of the encounter.
Search operations had been launched deep into the hills since the April 20 attack in Rajouri. Over 100 locals were questioned and scores detained to trace the tracks of the attackers.
A defence spokesperson said the army had launched an operation to flush out terrorists who were responsible for the recent attack on the army killing five soldiers when an army vehicle was shelled. The terrorists had also fled with the weapons of the fallen soldiers. The spokesperson said during the operation, “terrorists triggered explosives in retaliation.”
The operation was launched at Kesri Hill in the Kandi area of the Rajouri district. The army said they had received specific information about the presence of a group of terrorists entrenched in a cave. Five soldiers were killed in the attack,
“Indian Army columns have been conducting relentless intelligence-based operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in the Jammu region,” said the army spokesperson.
He said additional troops from the vicinity have been directed to the site of the encounter. According to the army, initial reports suggest a group of terrorists is trapped in the area and there is a “likelihood of casualties in the terrorist group.”
The incident appeared to be a repeat of an October 2021 operation in the Rajouri-Poonch region, when five soldiers were killed in an encounter with terrorists. During the operation that followed, four more army soldiers were killed in an ambush by terrorists.
After a month-long operation, no terrorist could be tracked down. After last month’s Bhata Durian attack, a massive cordon and search operation has been underway without significant success in tracking down the attackers.
The area has a history of terrorist movement. A few days after the killing of four soldiers in an attack on an Army camp at Pargal in the Budhal area in August last year, the police and security forces had established contact with two terrorists in the Kesari Top area. However, the terrorists had managed to escape taking advantage of the dense forests.
Meanwhile, J&K has witnessed a sudden spurt in encounters in the past three days. Four militants, two in Kupwara and two in Baramulla in north Kashmir, died in two separate gunfights. The spurt comes weeks ahead of the high-profile G-20 meeting in Srinagar where foreign delegates will participate in a working group meeting on tourism from May 22.