Poonch terror attack: Terrorists likely hid in forests, adjacent gorge

Sources among the security forces and the Jammu Kashmir Police said they believe that the terrorists had laid an ambush near Tota Gali on the Bhimber Gali-Surankote-Poonch Road. They pointed out that the road where the terror attack took place has hills covered with dense forests on one side and a deep gorge on the other side. Going by the trajectory of bullets hitting the vehicle on all sides, besides the fuel tank, sources said the terrorists appear to have been taking position in the forests on the hillside and in the gorge on the other side of the road.

The Army vehicle was on its way from Basooni in Balakote sector to Sangiote towards Surankote side. As it reached near Bhatta Durian, nearly 8 km from Bhimber Gali, the terrorists hiding in the forests and the gorge started firing on the vehicle, the sources said. One of them appears to have fired on the driver from the hillside, while another threw a grenade at the vehicle, they added.

Meanwhile, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh along with DIG Rajouri-Poonch range, Dr Haseeb Mughal, besides senior police officers from both Rajouri and Poonch districts also visited the spot.

Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh and officials from the National Investigation Agency were also likely to visit the spot later during the day.

Thursday’s attack comes amid discussions between the military leadership and the government on a proposal to withdraw Rashtriya Rifles troops from the Valley hinterland and let the CRPF fill in the gap.

With an RR sector moving to eastern Ladakh earlier, there has already been a partial thinning of troops in this area, sources said.

In January, Army chief General Manoj Pande had said that while the counter-insurgency grid in the Valley is strong, there have been instances of infiltration attempts in areas south of the Pir Panjal range. The Rajouri sector, where the attack took place Thursday, is south of the Pir Panjal range.

He said that the ceasefire agreement reached between India and Pakistan in February 2021 is holding well along the Line of Control and western borders, even as cross-border support to terrorism and terror infrastructure continues to remain an issue.

Thursday’s attack comes a week after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on April 13, reviewed the security situation in J&K. He also reviewed the preparations of the G20 meet, scheduled to be held in Srinagar in May, and asked all agencies to work in a coordinated manner for the event’s success.

The attack came 18 months after terrorists killed nine soldiers in the Bhata Durian and Chamrel forests in October 2021.

Meanwhile, sources said that the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, after a spell of peace, have started reporting the movement of terrorists.