Jammu and Kashmir: At least one Indian Air Force (IAF) soldier has died and five others were injured after their convoy was attacked by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's (J-K) Poonch district on Saturday. As per sources, close to 30 rounds were fired by the terrorists. The attack took place near Shashidhar in the evening when the vehicles were moving towards Sanai Top in the district's Surankote area, they said. Five soldiers were injured and the condition of two is critical. They were taken to a hospital, the officials said.
The local Rashtriya Rifles unit launched cordon and search operations in the area while vehicles were secured inside the air base in a general area near Shahsitar. Military personnel have suffered injuries, according to the Security Forces’ officials. "The injured troops have been airlifted to Command Hospital, Udhampur for further treatment," informed the Security Forces' officials.
The Indian Air Force confirmed the attack. Taking to social media platform X, it said, "An Indian Air Force vehicle convoy was attacked by militants in the Poonch district of J&K, near Shahsitar. Cordon and search operations are currently underway in the area by local military units. The convoy has been secured, and further investigation is under progress."
Mahesh Upasani, Group Captain, Indian Air Force (Retd.) said, "There were 5 people in the Air Force convoy, but none of them suffered very serious injuries and we're administering medical assistance to our air warriors. It seems that this is once again an attempt to disrupt the ongoing democratic process in our country. Air Force is very much capable of giving a suitable retort to such attacks"
Reinforcements from the army and police have been rushed to the area and a massive search and cordon operation has been launched to track down and neutralise the terrorists, they said. The border district of Poonch along with adjoining Rajouri have witnessed some of the major terrorist attacks over the past two years, signalling return of terror activities to the region, which was once cleared of terrorism and remained peaceful between 2003 and 2021.
The Army truck bore the major brunt of the firing by the terrorists who were armed with AK assault rifles and are believed to have fled into the nearby forests, the officials said.
Reinforcements from the Army and police have been rushed to the area and a massive search and cordon operation was launched to track down and neutralise the terrorists, they said.
Police assisted by paramilitary forces carried out searches in Poonch town since Friday following inputs about movement of suspected persons. However, no one was arrested during the operation, the officials said. The Bufliaz ambush in December last year came weeks after a major gunfight in the Dharmsal belt of Bajimaal forest in Rajouri that left five Army personnel, including two captains, dead a month earlier.
Two terrorists, including a top commander of LeT identified as Quari, were also killed in the two-day long gunfight. Quari was said to be the mastermind behind several attacks, including the killing of 10 civilians and five Army personnel in the district. The stretch between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz on the boundary of Rajouri and Poonch is densely forested and leads to Chamrer forest and then Bhata Dhurian forest, where five soldiers were killed in an ambush on an Army vehicle on April 20 last year.
(With inputs from Raahi Kapoor)
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