Five Indian Army personnel died on Monday afternoon while six of their colleagues sustained various degrees of injury during an attack by armed militants on a military convoy in the isolated Machedi sector of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack occurred around 150 km from Kathua while the Army vehicles were on a routine patrol along the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar road.
The injured soldiers were quickly taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
According to officials, the terrorists started the attack by launching a grenade and starting a gunfight. The assailants were able to flee into the neighbouring woodland despite the security forces’ counterattack. Reinforcements were sent in after the initial attack, and a search and rescue mission was initiated to locate the terrorists. There is still continuous intermittent gunfire between security troops and militants.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, emphasized the need for strict action against continuous terrorist attacks. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge expressed deep sorrow over the incident, condemning the attack and acknowledging the sacrifice of the soldiers.
Within 48 hours, since the previous assault in the Rajouri district which led to one soldier getting injured, this has been another such attack on the Indian Army in Jammu region. This one comes after six terrorists were killed with two soldiers perishing during separate encounters at Kulgam district of J&K.
In one encounter in Modergam village, a para-trooper was killed. Four terrorists were killed in Kulgam’s Frisal area again in another fierce battle. They were identified as members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group.
According to Narendra Modi the Prime Minister, the fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was in its final stage as there were plans in place which combined several approaches towards wiping out all the remnants of the terror network.
