Five army personnel were killed and the other five were gravely injured on Monday when militants ambushed their vehicle in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said.
The militants hurled a grenade and opened fire on the Army vehicles, which were on routine patrol on Machedi-Kindli-Malhar roads. The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. near Badnote village in Lohai Malhar, 150 km from Kathua town.
Reportedly, the security forces retaliated, but the militants fled into the nearby forest. However, an intermittent exchange of fire was going on between the militants and security forces.
“Ten troopers were injured in total, and four of them later succumbed to their injuries,” an official confirmed.
”The Counter Terrorist operations are underway, and our soldiers are determined to usher in peace and order in the region,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
However, officials suspect that the attack came from Pakistan along the Kathua-Samba-Jammu belt. The attack coincided with the eighth death anniversary of Hizb ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
What happened on June 12 and 13?
This was the second major incident in Kathua district in the past four weeks. Earlier, on June 12 and 13, two people and a CRPF jawan were killed in a fierce gunfight during a search and cordon operation.
“Initially, one terrorist was killed [on Tuesday] and another was killed on Wednesday. The slain were part of a newly-infiltrated group. We have not called off the operation. There may be some more terrorists hiding in the area,” said Anand Jain, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu.
The deceased jawan was identified as Kabir Dass of the CRPF’s 121 Battalion, who was shot in the right shoulder.
What Happened on June 9?
On June 9, at least 9 were killed and 33 were injured after a bus carrying a Hindu pilgrim in Indian-administered Kashmir fell into a ravine after an attack. The incident took place near Reasi town, in the south of the disputed territory, as the bus was returning from a popular Hindu shrine in the area.
“Militants ambushed the bus and fired at it indiscriminately. The bus fell into a gorge, leading to the deaths of nine pilgrims, and 33 are injured,” Reasi district’s police chief, Mohita Sharma, told reporters.
The bus was carrying pilgrims to the base camp of the Hindu temple Mata Vaishno Devi when it came under attack, senior administrative officer Vishesh Mahajan said.
