Jammu army camp fidayeen attack: 4 terrorists neutralized, 5 soldiers martyred

Mangalore Today News Network

Sunjwan, Feb 10, 2018 (DHNS) : Army neutralised fourth terrorist holed up inside the Sunjwan army camp at Jammu on Sunday morning. Five soldiers have attained martyrdom during the operation which is still ongoing. In addition to that, a civilian death has been reported.

The slain army personnel were identified as Madan Lal Choudhary (1st Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, JAKLI), Sub. Mohd Ashraf Mir (1st JAKLI), Hav. Habib-Ullah Qurashi (1st JAKLI), NK Manzoor Ahmed (1st JAKLI), L/NK Mohd Iqbal (1st JAKLI).

 

Eleven persons, including Lt Col Rohit Solanki and Major Avijit Singh of 6th Mahar regiment, were injured in the gun battle so far.

Reports said after a night-long halt, the army resumed the operation to flush out the remaining terrorists of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit from the military camp.

The protracted gun battle began at 4.50 am on Saturday after a group of JeM fidayeen stormed the family quarters in the camp. "There was no firing during the night and the focus of the army continues to be the evacuation of people from the family quarters," Jammu-based Army PRO Lt Col Devender Anand said and added the operation is on.

Sources said para commandos of IAF have been deployed to neutralise the remaining militants holed up in a building while tanks have also been pressed into service. After failing to locate the exact position of the militants inside the building, they said, security forces used Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) fitted with cameras to know the position of the ultras.


The fidayeen had struck before dawn on Saturday and managed to sneak into the camp from the rear side of the base camp after a brief exchange of fire with the sentry on its periphery.


The army spokesman said that operations are in progress with "extreme caution and restraint" to safeguard the unarmed soldiers, women and children in the houses. He denied any hostage situation and claimed that over 150 houses in the complex were cleared and occupants moved to safer places.


This is the second attack on the Sunjwan Military station in 15 years. In 2003, terrorists had barged into its premises and killed nearly a dozen soldiers. The latest attack came a day after the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013. Following the attack, a high alert was sounded in Jammu and security was beefed up in and around the city.