Five soldiers were killed and five others injured after armed terrorists ambushed an army truck on Monday afternoon in Badnota village, Kathua district, officials reported. The attack occurred around 3:30 pm in Badnota village of Loi Malhar in Billawar tehsil, approximately 120 km from Kathua’s district headquarters, near the Doda district border.
The terrorists, believed to be two to three in number, first lobbed a grenade at the army truck and then opened fire with automatic weapons. “At least five soldiers were killed and five others injured in the ambush,” a police officer stated, requesting anonymity.
Since June 9, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers took office, the Jammu region has experienced a series of terror attacks. The attacks in Reasi, Doda, and Kathua districts resulted in the deaths of nine civilians and a CRPF jawan, and injuries to 49 others, including seven security personnel. Security forces had also killed two terrorists in Kathua.
In Monday’s incident, ten soldiers were hit by automatic gunfire, and five of them succumbed to their injuries, according to the officer. The army has not yet issued a statement on the attack.
A police statement earlier read, “Exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces in the Machhedi area of Kathua district… Massive search operation has been launched.”
Five Soldiers Killed in Terrorist Ambush on Army Truck in Kathua
Following the attack, the terrorists fled into nearby forests. Additional reinforcements have been dispatched to the area, and a search operation is underway to locate them. Intermittent exchanges of fire between security forces and the terrorists continued at the time of reporting.
The terrorists were believed to have recently infiltrated from across the international border and were moving towards higher ground.
The army vehicle was on a routine patrol on the Machhedi-Kindli-Malhar road when the ambush occurred.
The five injured soldiers have been shifted to a military hospital for treatment.
Notably, a soldier was injured early Sunday morning in a suspected terror attack at a sentry post in Galuthi village, Manjakote area of Rajouri district. This incident took place near the 155 Territorial Army headquarters, under the jurisdiction of Patara police station in Manjakote, between 3:56 am and 4:26 am. The injured soldier was transferred to the 49 Rashtriya Rifles hospital in Manjakote and is reported to be out of danger.
Jammu and Kashmir has experienced a sudden spike in terror attacks.
The death toll in the twin encounters in Kulgam district has risen to eight, including six terrorists, as security forces recovered two more bodies. The twin encounters began on Saturday in two villages in Kulgam district.
On June 26, three terrorists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Gandoh area of Doda district.
In back-to-back incidents earlier that month, two terrorists and a CRPF jawan were killed during a gunfight that erupted during a search and cordon operation on June 12 and 13.
On June 11, a joint security picket of the police and army was targeted by terrorists in the Chattargala area of Bhaderwah, adjoining Kathua district. Five army personnel and a police officer were injured in the attack.
