E-Paper
3 terrorists held as army thwarts infiltration bid
Army foils infiltration attempt on LoC in Poonch sector, arrests three terrorists and seizes arms and ammunition including a 10kg improvised explosive device. One soldier injured.
Jammu The army on Wednesday foiled an infiltration attempt on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir’s Poonch sector and arrested three terrorists, said officials. The army also seized a consignment of arms and ammunition which included a 10kg improvised explosive device (IED), added officials.
Providing details, army spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand, in a statement said: “In a joint operation by Army and police... terrorists were intercepted on LoC in Poonch while attempting to cross the fence on the night of May 30 and 31.”
“Three terrorists, with weapons, war-like stores including a powerful 10kg IED, were apprehended,” he said, adding that one soldier was also injured during the incident and his condition is stable now.
The terrorists were identified as Mohammad Farooq (26) -- who received a bullet injury in his leg, Mohammad Riaz (23) and Mohammad Zubar (22), all residents of Karmara village in Poonch district. The injured terrorists have been shifted to a civil hospital under police custody, said officials.
The seizures made from the arrested accused include an AK-56 assault rifle with 10 rounds in the magazine (the rest of the ammunition was exhausted by the terrorists), two pistols with two magazines, 10-kg IED which was planted inside a pressure cooker, six Chinese grenades and 20 packets of narcotics suspected to be heroin worth over ₹100 crore in the international market.
“During preliminary questioning, the injured terrorist identified as Mohammad Farooq said that the IED was supposed to be planted on an army convoy in Gulpur area of Poonch,” said a senior army official wished to remain anonymous.
“The IED was planted inside a pressure cooker, it was later neutralised safely by bomb disposal squad,” he added.
Search operations were underway in the area until the last reports were received, said officials.
On May 5, five army soldiers were killed, and four others including an officer injured after terrorists triggered an explosive device during an encounter that broke out with security forces in the Kandli area of Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir.
On April 20, five soldiers were killed and another injured in Pir Panjal valley’s Poonch district in Jammu province after terrorists opened fire and launched grenades at an Army vehicle during a patrol.
Earlier on January 1 and 2, seven civilians – including a four-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were killed by armed terrorists in Rajouri’s Dhangri village.
In all three attacks, the terrorists have remained elusive. The jungles in Bhata Dhurian, Nar Khas, Chamrer and Kandi in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch with natural caves have become a haven for terrorists, said officials familiar with the developments.
