Four Army personnel were killed and three injured when their vehicles were ambushed by militants Thursday evening near Dehra Ki Gali (DKG) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
“An operation was being conducted in the general area Dehra ki Gali since the night of December 20,” the Army said Thursday evening. “At approximately 3.45 pm on December 21, two Army vehicles carrying troops were moving to the operational site, which were fired upon by terrorists. Own troops immediately retaliated. In the ongoing operation, our troops sustained three fatal and three non-fatal casualties.”
Another soldier was reported dead later.
Sources said two vehicles, a Gypsy and a mini-truck, were on their way from Bufliaz in Surankote to Thanamandi in Rajouri, where a Rashtriya Rifles unit is located.
As the vehicles reached below Topa Pir, militants who appeared to have already laid an ambush attacked them, sources said.
The attack near Topa Pir comes more than two decades after militants killed the Rajouri District and Sessions Judge V K Phool along with his friend and two police personnel at the same location. They were on their way from Rajouri to Poonch on December 1, 2001.
In 2021, militants ambushed an Army patrol in the nearby Chamarel forests and killed five soldiers.
The stretch between Dehra Ki Gali and Bufliaz is one of mostly densely forested areas located on the boundary of Rajouri and Poonch districts.
According to sources, a cordon was placed and search operations continued until late Thursday night. They said a team of Special Forces has been inducted for the operation and Heron UAVs are likely to be used.
Away from the Valley
The Rajouri ambush reinforces the security establishment’s assessment that terror incidents away from the Valley, where militant ranks have been staring at a leadership vacuum, are high visibility strikes, intended to inflict maximum damage. Areas in the Pir Panjal range and to its south are also easier to access.
The latest attack reinforces the trend of fewer yet more impactful and high visibility terror attacks in the areas south of Pir Panjal as compared to the Valley.
While four Army personnel died in the forests of Kokernag near Anantnag in September this year, there were 251 terrorist-initiated incidents in J&K between 2021 and May 30 this year, of which 15 were in the three districts of Jammu region and 236 in Kashmir Valley.
The reason for this, as per officials, is two-fold. The first is a leadership vacuum among militants in the Valley. Second, easier accessibility to areas south of Pir Panjal due to lower heights.
“Any militant crossing over from the lower heights of Jammu have to traverse through multiple high ranges like Pir Panjal before they reach Kashmir Valley, which challenges their logistical preparations and motivation. Hence shorter and intense contacts have become the norm in the Jammu region,” an official said.
Further, the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, which were declared “militancy-free” by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2011, have been witnessing a spurt in militant activity since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
Since 2021, 33 Army personnel and over a dozen militants have been killed in encounters at different places in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Of these, 19 soldiers have died in the last eight months. Ten civilians have also been killed by militants during the period.
The Northern Army Commander, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, said recently that at least 20-25 terrorists were active in both these places.
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First published on: 21-12-2023 at 17:26 IST
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
