Army Vehicle Catches Fire After Grenade Attack By Terrorists, Five Jawans Dead In J&K
Army sources told ABP that three-four jawans are believed to have been killed in the blaze.
Five jawans were charred to death as their Army vehicle caught fire after it was fired upon by terrorists on Poonch-Jammu highway. The incident occured when the Army vehicle was moving from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in Poonch district.
The Northern Command said the vehicle was fired on by unidentified terrorists, who took advantage of heavy rains and low visibility in the area. The vehicle caught fire, due to likely use of grenades by the terrorists.
"Five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit deployed for Counter Terrorist operations have unfortunately lost their lives in the incident. Another seriously injured soldier was evacuated immediately to the Army Hospital at Rajauri and is under treatment," the Northern Command said.
Operations are in progress to locate the perpetrators.
Visuals showed semi-burnt bodies of the soldiers lying on the road beside the burning truck. Local people and some Army personnel were seen extinguishing the fire.
Last year in December, an Indian Army truck caught fire about 60 km from Rajasthan's Udaipur, ostensibly due to a technical malfunction. The truck was part of a five-vehicle convoy en route to the military station in Udaipur. There was no loss of personnel or life.
In 2021, three soldiers were killed and another five injured when the Army vehicle they were travelling in overturned and caught fire in Rajasthan's Ganganagar district.
Last week, four soldiers were killed in their sleep in firing inside the military station in Bathinda. The personnel were asleep in their rooms when two masked men, in white kurta pyjamas, attacked them with rifles and sharp-edged weapons.
The four jawans were found in a pool of blood in their rooms. Nineteen empty shells of an INSAS rifle were recovered from the spot.
An Army jawan, identified as Desai Mohan, has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana said the motive was personal and Mohan had "enmity with them".
A day later, another jawan died inside the Bathinda military station when his service weapon went off accidentally.
The Indian Army, in a statement, said there was no connection between both the incidents. The second incident has been suspected to be an attempted suicide.