Jammu: A few hours after a fatal militant attack left five army personnel dead and as many were injured after terrorists ambushed their vehicle in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, the army has rushed elite para soldiers via choppers.
The elite soldiers group were airdropped in Mandli Sector close to the area where militants ambushed an army patrol.
Soon after the attack, combined team of Police and army were also rushed to the area which was cordoned off. A search operation was also launched to nab the attackers. At present, ground search teams are being supported by helicopter and UAV surveillance. Sniffer dogs and metal detectors are also being employed in the operation with a focus on some dense forest areas in the belt.
Officials said the joint cordon and search operation was launched by army, police and CRPF in in Machedi, Badnote, Kindli and Lohai Malhar areas and a large area has been put under cordon.
Earlier, terrorists hurled a grenade and opened fire at army vehicles which were on a routine patrol on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar road at around 3.30 pm near Badnota village in Lohai Malhar, 150 km from Kathua town.
One army vehicle, carrying ten occupants, was targeted, resulting in fatal injuries to five soldiers. When security forces retaliated, terrorists took cover in nearby forest, officials said. Soon an exchange of fire between the terrorists and security forces ensued, with quick deplyment of personnel to the area to take on the attackers, who were believed to be three in number and heavily armed.
According to sources, They have recently infiltrated from across the border. According to PTI, which quoted an offivial, a total of 10 troopers were injured and four of them later succumbed to their injuries.
Later, one more injured army personnel succumbed, taking the death toll to five. This was the second major incident in Kathua district in the past four weeks. On June 12 and 13, two terrorists and a CRPF jawan were killed in a fierce gunfight during a search. The terror attack comes within a fortnight of a gunfight between terrorists and security forces in the Gandoh area of Doda district that left three foreign terrorists dead on June 26.
