Indian Army foils Rajouri-type attack; 2 terrorists killed in Poonch, war-like stores recovered

The success comes just a few days after the inhumane Rajouri attack where terrorists opened fire, killing seven civilians in the Dhangi area.

New Delhi, Jan 08: The Indian Army foiled a major Rajouri-type as two terrorists were gunned down while trying to infiltrate Line of Control (LoC) in Balakot Sector in J&K's Poonch.

The successful operation in Balakote comes barely a week after terrorists attacked Dhangri village in adjoining Rajouri district on January 1, leaving seven people dead and 14 injured.

Earlier on December 29, the Army had foiled an infiltration bid in Krishna Ghati sector.

''At around 7 pm (on Saturday), the alert troops observed suspicious movement of two infiltrators who were trying to sneak across the LoC in Balakote sector. The troops along the LoC and fence were alerted and kept observing the area,'' the spokesperson said.

A landmine exploded after it was triggered by the infiltrating terrorists at around 7:45 pm, he said.

''Own (Army) troops saw the movement near the fence and engaged the terrorists by bringing aimed fire onto them. Once the firing had ceased, our troops on the fence and troops on the LoC readjusted the cordon to prevent their escape,'' he added.

A night-enabled quadcopter and other surveillance devices were employed to maintain strict vigil in the cordoned area.

''Troops commenced the search operation at 2 am on Sunday. The search was very deliberate as the area is not only undulating with dense undergrowth but is also heavily mined.

''In the search so far, two bodies have been recovered with weapons, magazines, ammunition and other war-like stores,'' the spokesperson said.

The Indian Army seized arms and ammunition include two AK assault rifles, one Chinese pistol, two Chinese hand grenades, two high explosive IEDs and a mobile.

Commander, Krishna Ghati Brigade, Brigadier R Krishnan said the Army is maintaining high alert based on intelligence inputs of likely infiltration attempts from across the border.

''As the weather continued to remain bad and the area was thickly wooded and mined, the search operation was launched on the morning of December 30. During the search operation, blood marks were noticed along with four 'pithoos' (pouches).

''Large quantities of war-like stores, clothing and subsistence materials were recovered from the 'pithoos','' he said.

The recovered items include two pistols with ammunition, two US-made night vision goggles, one binocular, one camcorder with pictures of the terrorists and their training, steel core AK ammunition, combat dress and warm clothing, he added.

''These continuous disruptive attempts by terrorists and inimical forces indicate their desperate efforts to hamper the prevailing peaceful and harmonious situation and the ongoing development in the Jammu region,'' Brigadier Krishnan said.

OneIndia earlier reported that the forward defence locations along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri are being targeted by Pakistani terrorists to help infiltration bids into India.

The Intelligence assessment said that the terrorists of Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad had set up these launchpads and are trying to infiltrate their terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.

In a bid to do so, they want to target civilians so that it would distract the security forces, following which they could carry out the infiltrations.

Hiwever, the number of infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir have gone down considerably. The annual 2021-2022 report of the Union Home Ministry said that 73 terrorist infiltration attempts were reported both through the International Border and Line of Control in 2021. This is in fact the lowest in five years.