Two days after the BSF claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid at the international border in Samba sector, militants struck in a big way
KALIMANDI-SAMBA(Jammu): Two days after the BSF claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid at the international border in Samba sector, militants struck in a big way killing six people, including two Army jawans and a photo journalist, and injuring around a dozen, including an Army Major and the Samba superintendent of police.
Two militants were also killed during the 12-hour operation jointly undertaken by the Army, the BSF and local police. Eyewitnesses said two people wearing Army fatigues were seen roaming about in the Kali Mandi forest belt at around 5.50 am. Soon after, they entered the house of a local political leader, Hoshiyar Singh, in a nearby village.
“When Singh resisted, the militants shot him and his wife Shashi Bala dead and injured their daughter. Later, they entered another house belonging to one Suresh and took five people hostage,” said neighbour Kuldeep Singh.
As local police, the BSF’s 112 battalion and the Army’s 17 Jat Regiment launched a rescue operation, an encounter ensued in which six people, including the photographer of Jammu-based newspaper Daily Excelsior Ashok Sodhi, were killed.
Eleven people, including an Army Major, five cops and superintendent of police Mubasir Latifi, were injured.
Two hours before mounting the final assault, the security forces rescued the five people taken hostage by the militants.
Lieutenant General Vinay Sharma, general officer commanding of 9-corps, said the operation took longer because they wanted to avoid civilian casualties. “It is a densely-populated area and we did not want civilian casualties. That is why we went slowly to neutralise the ultras,” he said.
Sharma claimed to have averted a major tragedy saying the ultras were planning to attack the Army camp nearby, possibly a repeat of the Kaluchak army camp fidayeen attack a few years ago in which a senior brigadier of the Army was killed and several top commanders, including then Northern Army commander Lt Gen Hari Prasad, were injured.
h_ishfaq@dnaindia.net
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