Poonch terror attack: Northern Command chief visits attack site, exhorts troops to be steadfast in their resolve
“Northern Command chief Lt Gen Dwivedi reviewed the operational situation after Thursday’s Poonch terror attack. He was briefed on the actions undertaken so far and exhorted the troops to be steadfast in their resolve,” wrote the Northern Command on its twitter handle.
Amid a massive search operation by the army, the Jammu and Kashmir Police and paramilitary forces to track down terrorists responsible for Thursday’s attack in the Tota Gali area of Poonch district, Northern Command chief Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday visited the site of the attack and reviewed the ongoing operations at ground zero.
At least five soldiers were killed, and another was injured after heavily armed terrorists ambushed an army truck at Tota Gali, around 7 km from Bhimber Gali.
The ill-fated truck was on its way to Sangiote from Bhimber Gali carrying fruits and other eatables for an Iftar party, which the 49 RR unit had kept at Sangiote that evening at 7 pm for the locals, including sarpanches, panches and villagers.
“Lt Gen Dwivedi reviewed the operational situation after Thursday’s incident. He was briefed on the actions undertaken so far and exhorted the troops to be steadfast in their resolve,” wrote the Northern Command on its twitter handle.
While success has so far eluded the security forces, sources in the security establishment confided to HT that on the fateful day of Thursday, the attackers, believed to be five to seven, fired 32 rounds of bullets, including some rounds of 7.62 mm steel core bullets, rocket-propelled grenades and probably used sticky bombs before fleeing from the spot.
“The sticky bombs were probably planted on the fuel tank by the fleeing terrorists. Two pins of Chinese hand grenades were also recovered from the site of the attack. There is also a possibility that Pakistani terrorists may have been involved in this attack,” they said.
Police have also detained around a dozen suspects since Thursday to get some clues about the attackers.
It may be stated that the army, the JKP and paramilitary forces are scanning the dense jungles of Bhata Dhurian, including Narkhas, and have pressed into service around 2,000 soldiers, including commandoes, in the searches.
Drones, sniffer dogs and helicopters are also being utilised to catch the terrorists.
