Srinagar: The death toll in the Poonch terror attack has risen to five, with two more soldiers succumbing to injuries on Thursday night, while three soldiers were injured.

Four of the deceased soldiers have been identified as Naik Birendra Singh, Naik Karan Kumar, Rifleman Chandan Kumar and Rifleman Gautam Kumar. The injured were identified as Sundeep Kumar, Shyam Sundar Das and Todmal Dnyaneshwar Bhaskarrav, one of whom is also believed to have succumbed to injuries.

The attack took place at around 3:45 pm on Thursday during an ongoing anti-militancy operation in Poonch district which started on Wednesday evening, December 20.

Officials said that the soldiers were injured when suspected militants carried out an attack on two Army vehicles – a gypsy and a truck, that were on the way to the site of the anti-militancy operation in Poonch.

According to reports, the vehicles were ambushed on a road between Dera-Ki-Gali (DKG) and Buffliaz areas in Surankote tehsil of Poonch, which has witnessed a spike in militant activities in recent years.

In a video shot at the site of the attack, which has been verified by The Wire, the targeted army gypsy can be seen with its glasses shattered and tyres deflated purportedly by gunshots while blood smears the road.

According to a report, the attackers also managed to decamp with some rifles of the targeted soldiers before fleeing from the area.

Following the attack, additional reinforcements were dispatched to assist the troopers in the search for the attackers.

“Based on hard intelligence, a joint operation was launched in the general area of DKG last night. Contact has been established this evening, and an encounter is in progress,” a defence spokesperson said in a statement.

Pir Panjal, which also comprises Rajouri district besides Poonch and parts of Reasi districts, has witnessed a spike in militancy in recent years with several Army soldiers losing their lives after being ambushed by militants in the region.

The attack comes less than a month after two army officers and an equal number of soldiers were killed in Baajimal area of the adjoining Rajouri district. The attack was so brutal that security forces had to retreat, leaving some of the injured behind, and regroup, before taking on the militants.

While militancy-related violence and local recruitment has gone down significantly in Kashmir Valley, militants seem to have shifted the focus seemingly towards Jammu which was a militancy-free region before August 5, 2019 when Article 370 was read down.

The region, which has rugged terrain with a thick cover of vegetation, has witnessed some of the deadliest attacks on security forces and civilians. Five soldiers of the Army’s Special Forces unit were killed in an ambush in Budhal area of Rajouri while an officer was injured in an IED explosion in May this year.

Source : The wire