‘Terrorists used steel core bullets,decamped with soldiers’ weapons’

 

 

 

THE terrorists who ambushed an Army truck in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch used steel core bullets, capable of piercing an armoured shield, and decamped with the soldiers’ weapons, officials said on Sunday, amid intensified efforts to trace and neutralise the perpetrators. They said a sniper is believed to have targeted the truck from the front before the other terrorists sprayed bullets and lobbed grenades on it. Five soldiers were killed and one injured after the terrorists attacked the lone Army truck, which was carrying eatables for iftar to a nearby village, in the dense forest area of Bhata Dhurian late onThursday afternoon and the vehicle caught fire. The soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.

 

 Expertsfromvariousagencies, including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have visited the site ofthe attack overthe pasttwodaysandhave managed to get a clear picture of the deadly ambush which was laidby the terrorists, the officials said. They said a sniper is believedtohave targetedthe vehicle fromthefrontbefore hisassociates showered bullets and lobbed grenades on the vehicle from opposite sides, apparently giving the troops no time to retaliate. The terrorists used steel core bullets that can penetrate an armoured shield, they said. Before fleeing, the terrorists stole the soldiers’ arms and ammunition, they added.

 

Though the area where the attack took place is considered terrorism-free for long, theBhataDhurianforestarea remains a notorious infiltration route for terrorists attempting to sneak into India by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) due to its topography,denseforestcover and natural caves. In October 2021, nine soldierswerekilledintwomajor gunfights with terrorists within four days in the forestareaduringasearchoperation thatcontinuedforover three weeks. Thursday’s ambush was alsoa grim reminder ofaterrorist 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 intheattackwhichtookplace on December 5, 2001, in the DehraKiGaliforestsnearthe Bhata Dhurian forests. The officials said over 12 people have been detained forquestioninginconnection with the Poonch attack but no arrests have been made so far. Security forces are using drones and sniffer dogs to conduct a recce ofthe dense forest but success has eluded them so far, they said. It is believed that the terroristshave managedto createsafehideoutsinthedense forest to escape the security dragnetormayhave crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, they added. According to the officials, initial reports suggest the involvement of around five terrorists, including some foreign mercenaries, in the attack.