New Delhi: The ghastly attack on an Army truck in Poonch Thursday, which killed five soldiers, was an ambush orchestrated by a group of Pakistani terrorists who are believed to have carried out earlier attacks too, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the truck was forced to stop because logs of wood placed on the road.
They said terrorists opened fire when two soldiers came down to remove the logs. One of the deceased soldiers was hit by multiple bullets, they said.
Sources said two grenade pins were recovered from the spot, which would mean at least two were thrown at the truck. It is, however, believed the truck caught fire due to the burst fuel tank.
Sources said the truck was carrying provisions, including food and kerosine, when the ambush took place.
They added security forces have launched a massive search operation to zero in on the perpetrators – around seven of them.
Intel suggests a group of foreign terrorists, headed by a seasoned member, has been operating in the area these last few months. It is believed the same group was behind the terror strike in Dangri in January.
Sources added at least two of them have recently moved into the area from Kashmir.
Sources said there have been a total of 13 incidents involving terror groups in this region over the last year and half and that none of them have been solved yet.
While Jaish-e-Mohammad’s proxy outfit People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, sources said it was the Jaish which was behind the ambush.
Around 3 pm Thursday, the Army vehicle – moving between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in Rajouri sector – was fired upon by unidentified terrorists, the Northern Command confirmed in a statement yesterday.
It said the terrorists took advantage of heavy rains and low visibility in the area.
Sources said the South of the Pir Panjal region, a mountainous stretch that divides the Kashmir valley from the Jammu region, has become a concern.
The stretch starts from the Jammu-Samba-Kathua plains to the hilly Rajouri-Poonch and has a 198-km international border that goes on to the 740-km Line of Control (LoC), beginning in Akhnoor.
The South of Pir Panjal route was heavily used in the 1990s for infiltration and to bring in arms and explosives. However, the action later shifted to the north of Pir Panjal.
Lt Gen Satish Dua (Retd), who has served in the area as a Brigade Commander, said: “Off late, they (terror groups guided by their Pakistani handlers) are trying to activate this (Jammu, Pooch side) side also. The North of Panjal has a very robust security grid. Over a period of time, activities in the South of Pir Panjal had come down. Their (terrorists) idea is to keep the whole area activated.”
Former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, who has commanded the division there, said an attack that caused such high casualties has come after a very long time.
“The terror network exists even though terrorism has gone down critical threshold levels. There are G20 meetings scheduled in Kashmir and the attacks are an attempt to internationalise the issue,” he said.
Also read: Massive manhunt underway as five soldiers killed in ‘terror attack’ in Jammu