New Delhi: Five soldiers of the Indian Army’s elite 9 Para SF were killed in a face-off with terrorists in the thick jungles of Bhata Dhurian in the Rajouri sector, ThePrint has learnt.
In a statement issued by the army earlier, the force had said that two soldiers were fatally injured and four more, including an officer, were injured.
It said that on specific information about the presence of terrorists in the Kandi Forest in Rajouri sector, a joint operation was launched on 3 May 2023.
At about 7.30am on 5 May, a search team established contact with a group of terrorists well entrenched in a cave. The area is thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs.
The terrorists triggered an explosive device in retaliation, the army said.
Officials in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the soldiers were from the 9 Para SF.
They added that the special team was out on operation to track the terrorists behind an attack last month that led to the death of five soldiers.
The Poonch attack on an army truck that killed five soldiers last month was believed to have been carried out by a combined team of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba with a mix of local and Pakistani terrorists.
The officials said that the soldiers’ location was first hit by grenades and then the terrorists closed in, opening fire.
The Para SF are elite commandos of the Indian Army and the 9 Para SF is a specialised unit which has numerous successful operations to its credit.
Soldiers from the 9 Para SF and the 4 Para SF were involved in the 2016 cross LoC surgical strikes.
The army said that additional teams from the vicinity have been directed to the site of encounter.
The injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur.
As per initial reports, a group of terrorists are trapped in the area. There is a likelihood of casualties in terrorist group, the army said.
The operation is in progress.
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