Rajouri terror attack: Fourth army soldier, a rifleman, succumbs to injuries

Srinagar, Aug 11: Another rifleman Nishant Malik, who was injured in a 'fidayeen' attack carried out by two terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri, succumbed to injuries late on Thursday evening, taking the toll in the attack to four. The braveheart martyred in the attack belonged to Hansi town of Hisar district in Haryana.

Earlier, three soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were martyred and three others, including Malik, were injured when two suicide bombers tried to gain entry into an Army post in Parghal area of Darhal in Rajouri district. The two terrorists were also shot dead in an encounter that ensued.

The army, however, foiled a suicide bomb attack on its base and eliminated both the terrorists.

Both the terrorists, who are believed to be from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), were heavily armed with deadly 'steel core' bullets and were shot down after an over four-hour gun battle which started at 2 AM and ended just before 6.30 AM, police said. The attack came four days ahead of India's 75th Independence Day next Monday.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told PTI that the two 'fidayeens' (suicide attackers), believed to be from the banned JeM, attempted to sneak into the camp but were neutralised.

Giving details, Defence spokesman at Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand said alert sentries of the Army post at Parghal in Rajouri district in the Jammu region, about 185 km from Jammu city, detected suspicious persons approaching their post taking advantage of the inclement weather and dense foliage.

He said the sentries challenged the two terrorists who lobbed grenades while attempting to gain entry inside the post. However, alert troops cordoned the area and engaged them in a firefight, he added.

Anand said in the ensuing gunfight, the two terrorists were neutralised.

Six soldiers of the Army were injured in the operation and of them, four succumbed to injuries while repulsing the suicide attack, he added.

The slain Army personnel were identified as Subedar Rajendra Prasad (of Maligoven village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district), Rifleman Lakshmanan D (of T Pudupatti village in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu), Rifleman Manoj Kumar (of Shahjahanpur village in Haryana's Faridabad), and Rifleman Nishant Malik (of Adarsh Nagar village in Haryana's Hisar).

''The Indian Army salutes the bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, upholding the highest tradition of the force. The nation will always remain indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,'' he added.

The attack marks the return of 'fidayeen' to the Union territory of J& K after more than three years. The last such strike took place on February 14, 2019 at Lethpora in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

There was an intelligence input about the presence of terrorists from the JeM in the region and police and other security agencies were carrying out operations in various parts of the district, police said.

Security forces and the police had been put on alert following intelligence inputs on suspected movement of terrorists in the Rajouri belt, prompting them to launch a combing operation in Darhal and Nowshera belt on Wednesday.

On May 8, a terrorist was killed as the Army foiled an infiltration bid along the LoC in Rajouri district. There were several blasts in Rajouri district in April and May.

Police had busted two modules of the LeT instrumental in carrying out terror acts and ferrying drone-dropped weapons from Pakistan to the Kashmir valley. They arrested five members of two terror modules.