A search operation with a huge cordon has been going on in Poonch after an ambushed terrorist attack on Indian soldiers this Thursday. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team, along with the General Officer Commanding (GoC), XVI Corps, went to the concerned site on Friday. They are trying to analyse the whole situation and review it to track down the terrorists.
Details of the search operation being carried out in Poonch:
The search operation that is being carried out on multiple fronts includes not only a large number of security personnel but also involves aerial monitoring of the concerned area using helicopters. Along with this, sniffer dogs are being used to track down any possible terrorists that could be hiding in that area. A few local suspects have also been detained by army personnel from Dera Ki Gali for investigation, but no arrests have been made so far. The road in that area has also been closed to traffic since the attack.
The security officials are also investigating the area to figure out the pattern of attacks by the terrorists and what weapons were used in this attack. It is being believed that terrorists have managed to create safe hideouts for themselves in the dense forest of that area or may have already crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to the officials, the initial reports point towards the involvement of around five terrorists, which could also include foreign mercenaries. Officials believe that the terrorists who have executed this attack have been living in Rajouri and Poonch for more than a year to obtain adequate knowledge of this terrain.
Details of the concerned attack in Poonch:
The banned terrorist group People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a proxy wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed, has claimed responsibility for this attack. For this attack, the heavily armed terrorists took their position on hilltops and selected a blind curve to target the oncoming army vehicles. On Thursday, at 3:45 pm, when two army vehicles carrying Indian Army soldiers came to that site, they came under attack at the blind curve at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz.
Five soldiers were killed and one was injured in this terrorist attack. These soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations in this area. It is being believed that the terrorists targeted the vehicle from the front before others showered bullets and lobbed grenades on the vehicle from opposite sides, which gave the troops no time to retaliate. The vehicle had erupted into flames, which is believed to be due to the grenades and sticky bombs used by the terrorists. It has also been reported that after the attack, the terrorists stole the arms and ammunition of the soldiers.
Poonch, the area where this attack took place, has been considered a terrorism-free area for a long time. However, the Bhata Dhurian forest area has remained a notorious infiltration route for terrorists who attempt to sneak into India by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) owing to the topography of that area along with the dense forest cover and natural caves present there.
Reactions across the country after the terrorist attack in Poonch:
This terrorist attack has sparked several reactions throughout the country. After this incident, the Jammu Statehood Organisation organised anti-Pakistan protests in the city and set the effigy of Pakistan on fire. In a different protest held in that same region, Dogra front Shiv Sena demanded the government go for an all-out operation and clean up the area of terrorists.
The opposition parties are also questioning the current government over the Poonch terrorist attack and accusing them doing “politics over the lives of security personnel.” Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut compared this attack in Poonch with the Pulwama attack back in 2019 and questioned if BJP wants to “seek votes again on the Pulwama issue in 2024.”.
Ravinder Sharma, vice president of the J-K Congress, has also expressed his concerns over the situation in the region. He called the attack an open challenge to the country. He pointed out that terrorism has been revived in the Rajouri-Poonch area, but the government is not worried about it but instead says that there is peace in this region.
