Two couples detained on suspicion of shelter
Steel core bullets made in US or China: probe on
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 23: Militants had taken away weapons and ammunition of the Army soldiers who were martyred in Thursday’s terror attack at Bhatta Durrian in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district while two couples from village Degwar were picked up by police today on the suspicion of helping the ultras even as all major security and Intelligence agencies have launched joint and coordinated searches in the forests to track down the assailants.
Additional DGP Jammu Zone Mukesh Singh told the Excelsior that a well coordinated operation has been launched jointly by all security agencies including Army, paramilitary forces and police; backed by the Intelligence agencies, to track down the militants involved in terror attack.
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“Massive search operations are on in Bhatta Durrian forests. The operations have been launched jointly by security forces and are being coordinated regularly by top officials,” the Jammu Police chief, who camped at the spot for two days, said.
Mukesh Singh said number of the militants who carried out the attack was between 2-3 and all of them are believed to be Pakistanis.
“We can’t say about local involvement at this stage,” he said.
On use of Chinese-made steel core bullets in the attack by the militants, the ADGP Jammu said: “this is part of investigations”.
Meanwhile, reliable sources said the militants had decamped with weapons and ammunition which the Army personnel were carrying with them in the truck after five bravehearts fell to the bullets and another was seriously injured, on Thursday afternoon.
At least two Army personnel are equipped with arms and ammunition while travelling in the sensitive areas.
However, there was no official comment from the Army on the militants taking away weapons and ammunition of the soldiers with them after the attack.
“Investigations are on to find out whether steel core bullets used by the militants in targeting the Army truck were Chinese make or United States. Such bullets were left by the US troops in Afghanistan for Afghan Army while leaving Kabul and they fell in the hands of Taliban after fall of the US-backed Government there. The bullets might have been diverted by Taliban to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants,” sources said but added that all these issues will be part of investigation.
While team of National Security Guard (NSG) is at the spot, investigations so far are being jointly carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and police. However, there was a possibility that the investigations might be handed over to the NIA.
Police today detained two couples from Degwar on the suspicion of helping the militants. They have been identified as Mohammad Iqbal and his wife Mudifa and Salam Din and his wife Rahida, all residents of Degwar. They are being questioned. Nearly two dozen suspects have so far been rounded up for questioning by various agencies for questioning in connection with the attack.
They said a sniper is believed to have targeted the truck from the front before the two other militants sprayed bullets and lobbed grenades on it.
Five soldiers sacrificed their lives and another was injured after the militants attacked the lone Army truck, which was carrying eatables for Iftar to a nearby village, in the dense forest area of Bhatta Durrian late on Thursday afternoon and the vehicle caught fire.
The soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.
Experts from various agencies, including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have visited the site of the attack over the past two days and have managed to get a clear picture of the deadly ambush which was laid by the militants.
Though the area where the attack took place is considered terrorism-free for long, the Bhatta Durrian forest area remains a notorious infiltration route for militants attempting to sneak into India by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) due to its topography, dense forest cover and natural caves.
In October 2021, nine soldiers fell to the bullets in two major gunfights with militants within four days in the forest area during a search operation that continued for over three weeks.
Thursday’s ambush was also a grim reminder of a terror attack on the official vehicle of a Judicial Magistrate over two decades ago. District and Sessions Judge V K Phool, a civilian and two police personnel were killed in the attack which took place on December 5, 2001, in the Dehra Ki Gali forests near the Bhatta Durrian forests.
It is believed that the militants have managed to create safe hideouts in the dense forest to escape the security dragnet.
At present, three to four militant groups are active in the districts of Rajouri and Poonch, sources said.
Banned terror group People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a proxy wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed, has claimed responsibility for the attack. There are reports suggesting that it was the handiwork of banned Lashkar-e-Toiba group also.
Meanwhile, Army’s Northern Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi today said that necessary action is underway against the terrorists responsible for the deadly attack on an Army truck in Poonch district.
In a tweet on its official handle, the Army’s Northern Command shared Lt Gen Dwivedi’s visit to the Command Hospital in Udhampur and his interaction with the survivor of the terror attack.
“#LtGenUpendraDwivedi #ArmyCdrNC interacted with the survivor of the 20 Apr 23 #Poonch incident at Command Hospital #Udhampur and assured that necessary action is underway,” read the tweet accompanied by two pictures of the soldier.
The Northern Army Commander on Saturday visited the attack site at Bhatta Durrian, an area that is a preferred infiltration route for terrorists from across the Line of Control because of its topography, dense forest cover and natural caves.
Dwivedi reviewed the security in the border area and the ongoing combing operation to track down the terrorists.
The Northern Command said in a tweet that he was briefed on the actions undertaken so far and exhorted the troops to be steadfast in their resolve.
Meanwhile, traffic on Rajouri-Poonch highway was restored this morning after remaining suspended since Thursday evening.
They said traffic was earlier diverted to other routes to secure the highway which connects the twin border districts with Jammu.
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