New DelhiA massive search operation has been launched by the Army and other security forces to nab the terrorists allegedly involved in Thursday’s attack on an army truck in which five soldiers were killed.
Sources in the defense and security establishment told ThePrint that the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a proxy outfit of Jaish-e-Mohammed, has claimed responsibility for the attack, but they are trying to trace it. The central government had declared PAFF a terrorist organization in January this year.
“Security forces have launched a manhunt in which multiple agencies are involved. We will meet him,” said a source.
The attack took place when the jawans were traveling in a truck in Rajouri sector of Jammu.
In a statement, the Army’s Northern Command said that at around 1500 hrs (3 p.m.) on Thursday, unidentified terrorists opened fire on an army vehicle moving between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in Rajouri sector.
It added that the terrorists took advantage of heavy rains and low visibility in the area.
“The vehicle caught fire due to the possible use of a grenade by the terrorists,” the statement said.
Five personnel of a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for anti-terrorist operations in the region were killed, the statement said, adding that another was seriously injured.
The Army identified the slain soldiers as Havildar Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Devashish Baswal, Kulwant Singh, Constable Harkishan Singh and Sevak Singh.
Graphic visuals of the truck purportedly set on fire and dead soldiers have been shared on social media.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who was briefed by Army Chief General Manoj Pandey after the attack, said in a social media post on Thursday that he was “pained” by the attack.
Incidentally, the attack came on a day Pakistan confirmed that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto would travel to India next month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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