JAMMU: It was around 7.30am on Friday when a team of army commandoes from the 9 Para SF and 60 Rashtriya Rifles made contact with a group of terrorists who had taken shelter in a network of caves shrouded in the thick foliage of Kandi forests in Rajouri, Jammu. As they closed in, the terrorists triggered a hidden explosive before opening “indiscriminate fire” with assault rifles, officials aware of Friday’s deadly attack told HT.
The soldiers had entered the forest to hunt down the terrorists behind the April 20 ambush on an Indian army truck at Tota Gali, which killed five soldiers.
According to officials aware of the matter, the special operations group of the J&K police and the CRPF launched a joint operation in Kandi forests. On Friday, around 6.30 AM army commandoes from 9 Para SF and soldiers of 60 RR entered the forest on a specific input.
An hour later, the IED and the gunfire left five soldiers with fatal wounds.
At 8.35am, reinforcements were rushed and helicopters and drones were pressed into service to track-down terrorists, people aware of the matter said, adding that by then, the attackers had managed to escape into the thick jungle.
At around 8.45am, the injured soldiers were evacuated to Command Hospital in Udhampur, where three of them victims succumbed to their injuries.
The army, SOG and CRPF for now have halted operations but a cordon remains in place, people aware of the matter said.
The Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police (DGP), Dilbag Singh, on Friday said that six terror operatives, which included the entire family of one of them, colluded on the instructions of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and provided logistical support that included arms, ammunition, grenades and cash dropped by a Pakistani drone besides food and shelter to the terrorists who ambushed the army vehicle on April 20.
