Internet Suspended In Poonch, Rajouri As Security Forces Resume Op To Flush Out Terrorists In J&K

Security forces are conducting searches in Poonch and Rajouri to track down terrorists in the area since after Thursday's ambush.

Search operation resumes in Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.

Source : PTI

A massive search operation is underway in the dense forest area of the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir to track down the terrorists. Mobile internet services were suspended in Poonch and Rajouri districts early Saturday morning, said Army sources. This comes a day after General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based White Knight Corps Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain and Director General of Police R R Swain inspected the scene of the ambush and reviewed the security situation in the region. Four soldiers were killed and three were injured after terrorists ambushed two army vehicles while they were heading for a counter-terror operation.

#WATCH | Search operations by the security forces in the forest area of Dera ki Gali in the Rajouri sector in J&K continue after the terrorist attack on Army vehicles on 21st December

(Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/SYggTaVuhd

— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2023

The People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a LeT offshoot, has claimed responsibility for the Poonch terror attack.

 

Top Points On Rajouri Ambush

• Three to four heavily-armed terrorists targeted a Maruti gypsy and a truck of the Army late Thursday afternoon, killing four soldiers and injuring three. To prevent rumours, mobile internet services have been suspended in Poonch and Rajouri.
• The suspension of mobile Internet services in the twin border districts followed the mysterious death of three persons. Three men were found dead under suspicious circumstances on Friday near the site of an ambush by terrorists on Army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said, quoted PTI. The deceased were among the eight people reportedly picked up by the Army for questioning in connection with Thursday's attack.

#WATCH | Security personnel deployed in the Bafliaz area of Poonch district as a search operation is underway to nab terrorists in the forest area of Dera ki Gali in the Rajouri sector pic.twitter.com/AJjoBtzc61

— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2023

• The three men have been identified as -- Safeer Hussain (43), Mohammad Showket (27) and Shabir Ahmad (32), and they are all residents of Topa Peer village of Bufliaz. As per PTI, they died under mysterious circumstances and the cause of their death was not known immediately.
• Poonch Deputy Commissioner Choudhary Mohammad Yasin and Senior Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar also reached Bufliaz following the reports of the death of the three men, officials said, quoted PTI.
• Meanwhile, a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), headed by a deputy inspector general-rank officer, also visited the attack site. However, PTI cited a top official as saying the agency has not been assigned the case for probe so far.
• Senior Army, police and civil officers are monitoring the situation, PTI cited the the sources, adding that additional police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in sensitive pockets of the districts to maintain peace.

Visuals from Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir as security forces continue their search operation to track down terrorists behind the recent ambush on two Army vehicles that left five soldiers dead. pic.twitter.com/eu5E1dQQsq

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 23, 2023

• One of the four slain soldiers, Rifleman Gautam Kumar from Uttarakhand, was to get married in March."We got a call from his unit around midnight on Thursday saying he had been martyred. The family is devastated," Kumar's elder brother Rahul said, quoted PTI.His marriage was scheduled to be held on March 11 and preparations for that were underway, he said. Kumar had joined the Army in 2014 and was currently serving in the 89 Armed Regiment
• Earlier, speaking about the attack, defence expert Colonel S S Pathania said: "It is a matter of concern. It is the second incident in the last two months. This region was peaceful till recently. During the last two years, 35 soldiers were killed here. Why is it happening? Why have terrorists got so emboldened?"