Injured airlifted to Command Hospital, 2nd attack in last 12 days in Pir Panjal region
Yogesh
Jammu Tawi (J&K- India), May 04: One IAF Soldier died and four Air Force personnel were injured in action today when their vehicles were ambushed by the terrorists in Shah Sittar forest area in the border district of Poonch, a news report said. A group of terrorists attacked the IAF convoy on Saturday in the densely covered forest, officials said.
The injured soldiers were airlifted to the Command Hospital in Udhampur for further treatment, officials said. Of the five injured, one airman who was critical later succumbed to injuries. Jammu based Army spokesperson confirmed the attack. He, however, didn't elaborate further.
This is the first major attack on the armed forces this year in the region which witnessed a series of terror attacks on the army movements last year. Visuals from the attack site showed at least a dozen bullet holes on the windscreen of the vehicle that came under fire.
Sources said that the injured air warriors were airlifted to Command Hospital Udhampur from Poonch within half an hour from the attack while the other vehicles of the convoy had been secured and safely reached its destination. They said that the condition of one of the injured was stated as critical.
The Indian Air Force in a statement said that “an IAF vehicle convoy was attacked by militants in the Poonch district of J&K, near Shahsitar. Cordon and search operations are underway presently in the area by local military units. The convoy has been secured, and further investigation is under progress.”
Shah Sittar forest area falls between Surankote's Sanai Top and Mendhar's Gursai area of border Poonch district. The personnel were on their way to the IAF facility when they were ambushed, the sources said.
Sources said a combing and search operation had been going on in the area between Mendhar and adjoining Surankote for the past few days following reports of movement of terrorists. During the searches, terrorists opened fire on a vehicle carrying Air Force personnel. The Airmen retaliated and in the ensuing firefight, five personnel were injured. Reinforcements of police and security forces were rushed to the area as soon as reports of the attack came in.
A cordon and search operation has been initiated by the local Rashtriya Rifles unit to apprehend the perpetrators. The area has been cordoned off and searches are in progress, sources said.
This is the second terrorist attack in Pir Panjal region that spreads over Rajouri and Poonch districts, in the last 12 days.
In the last incident, a 40-year-old government employee was killed after unknown terrorists had opened fire on him near Shahdra Sharief area of Thanamandi on April 22. The man was identified as Mohammad Raziq of Kunda Top and his brother was reportedly a soldier in the Territorial Army.
On December 21, four soldiers had died in a terror attack on the Mughal Road between Dehra Ki Gali and Bufliaz in Poonch. In view of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the area, security forces and police have already launched cordon and search operations at a massive scale to flush out terrorists and their sympathisers. A few days before the Shahdra Sharief attack, the police and security forces, in a joint operation, had apprehended a school headmaster from Hari Buddha area of Poonch and seized a Pakistan-made pistol along with ammunition as well as two Chinese grenades from his house.
Poonch is part of Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the sixth phase on May 25. Meanwhile, security and searches intensified in Kathua, Doda, Udhampur and Kishtwar after unknown terrorist killed a Village Security Guard on April 28 in Basantghar. (KNO with inputs from Agencies)
