J&K: Day after attack on Army convoy, search ops underway

JAMMU: A cordon-and-search operation was underway in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to track down terrorists who had fired on a convoy of Army vehicles a day ago, officials said.

There was no casualty in the attack on the convoy on Friday.

Troops are using sniffer dogs and aerial surveillance to comb the area, which has dense forest, the officials said.

The cordon-and-search operation was underway to track the attackers, a senior officer said.

The vehicles that came under attack near Krishna Ghati in Poonch sector on Friday evening were carrying security personnel back to a camp.

No one was injured in the attack and the commanding officer as well as other Army personnel were safe, officials said.

A similar ambush on Army vehicles took place in Poonch’s Dhatya Morh in the Dera Ki Gali area on December 21. Four Army personnel were killed in the attack.

Rajouri and Poonch districts have witnessed targeted attacks by terrorists on the Army and civilians in the recent past, they said.

Nineteen soldiers were killed in four terrorist attacks in Rajouri and Poonch in 2023.

Security forces killed more than 30 terrorists in the two districts — along the Line of Control (LoC) as well as in the hinterland — last year.

The General Officer Commanding of 16 Corps Lt General Navin Sachdeva on Saturday briefed Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha about the security situation in Jammu region.

“Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva, GOC White Knight Corps called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan today,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.

The GoC briefed LG Sinha about the present security scenario, it said

Lt General Sachdeva also presented the LG his book on China.

Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi Saturday reviewed the counter-infiltration grid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

The Army’s Northern Command chief visited the forward areas of Machil sector in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

“In the relentless pursuit of operational excellence and to review the Counter Infiltration Grid, #LtGenUpendraDwivedi, #ArmyCdrNC accompanied by #ChinarCorps Cdr and GOC #VajrDivision visited forward Battalions in #Machhal Sector,” the Northern Command said in a post on ‘X’.

The Army said the commander interacted with the troops and personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Border Security Force and the Border Roads Organisation.