Terrorists kill three soldiers in J&K’s Rajouri; two militants gunned down

Jammu, Aug 11: Terrorists attacked an Army camp in Rajouri district on Thursday killing three soldiers and the two attackers were gunned down in the shootout after the pre-dawn suicide strike that marked the return of ‘fidayeen’ to Jammu and Kashmir after more than three years.
Both the terrorists, who are believed to be from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM), were heavily armed with deadly ‘steel core’ bullets and were shot down after an over four-hour gun battle which started at 2 AM and ended just before 6.30 AM, police said. The attack came four days ahead of India’s 75th Independence Day next Monday.
Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told PTI that the two ‘fidayeens’ (suicide attackers), believed to be from the banned JeM, attempted to sneak into the camp but were neutralised. He said “three army men were also martyred in the gun fight”.
Giving details, Defence spokesman at Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand said alert sentries of the Army post at Parghal in Rajouri district in the Jammu region, about 185 km from Jammu city, detected suspicious persons approaching their post taking advantage of the inclement weather and dense foliage.
He said the sentries challenged the two terrorists who lobbed grenades while attempting to gain entry inside the post. However, alert troops cordoned the area and engaged them in a firefight, he added. Anand said in the ensuing gunfight, the two terrorists were neutralised.
Six soldiers of the Army were injured in the operation and of them, three succumbed to injuries while repulsing the suicide attack, he added.
The slain Army personnel were identified as Subedar Rajendra Prasad (of Maligoven village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district), Rifleman Lakshmanan D (of T Pudupatti village in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu) and Rifleman Manoj Kumar (of Shahjahanpur village in Haryana’s Faridabad), Anand said.
“The Indian Army salutes the bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, upholding the highest tradition of the force. The nation will always remain indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” he added. (PTI)