Amid ongoing combing and search operation in the Bafliaz area of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir following Thursday's terror attack in Dera Ki Gali, Army Chief General Manoj Pande is likely to visit Jammu on Monday to review the situation that emerged after repeated terror attacks in the south of Pir Panchal.
Quoting defence sources, a news agency reported that the Army chief is likely to visit Jammu and discuss the recent and ongoing counter-terrorist operations and the casualties that have been suffered in the recent terror attacks there.
"The Army Headquarters is also watching the situation closely and keeping track of operations there closely", reports said.
Nine soldiers including two Captains lost their lives in two terror attacks in one month
Terrorists are striking in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri after repeated intervals. Within a month, nine soldiers including two Captains lost their lives in two terror attacks in the Rajouri district.
- Five soldiers of the Army including two Captains lost their lives in an encounter with terrorists in the Solki area of the Kalakote tehsil in Rajouri district on November 22.
- Exactly a month later, four soldiers lost their lives when terrorists ambushed two Army vehicles in the Dera Ki Gali area in Rajouri district on December 21.
The terror attack in the Dera Ki Gali on December 21 was similar to the attack Solki area of Kalakote on November 22. While four soldiers attained martyrdom in the Dera Ki Gali attack, five soldiers including two captains namely Captain MV Pranjal (63 RR) of the Mangalore area of Karnataka, Captain Shubham Gupta (9 Para) of Agra of Uttar Pradesh lost their lives in the line of duty in Solki attack.
Reports said that nearly 25 terrorists trained in Afghanistan and other parts of the world are operating in the mountainous region of Poonch and Rajouri. These Pakistani terrorists are trained in executing IED blasts and targeted killings.
After the Solki terror attack in November this year, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C) Northern Command Lt General Upendra Dwivedi admitted that the highly trained Pakistani terrorists have sneaked into the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
Four fallen soldiers accorded farewell in Rajouri
A wreath-laying ceremony for four Army personnel was held in Rajouri on Sunday. The officials of the Indian Army accorded a tearful farewell to the four fallen soldiers, Naik Birender Singh, Rifleman Gautam Kumar, Naik Karan Kumar, and Rifleman Chandan Kumar, at a wreath-laying ceremony in Rajouri.
In a solemn wreath-laying ceremony, #LtGenUpendraDwivedi, #ArmyCdrNC paid homage to Naik Birendra Singh, Naik Karan Kumar, Rifleman Chandan Kumar & Rifleman Gautam Kumar who sacrificed their lives in the service of the Nation.#IndianArmy stands firm with the bereaved families… pic.twitter.com/2OKVG1TeS6
— NORTHERN COMMAND - INDIAN ARMY (@NorthernComd_IA) December 24, 2023
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi led the wreath-laying ceremony of soldiers at a military camp in Poonch where their mortal remains were shifted.
Lt Gen Dwivedi interacted with the next of kin of the slain soldiers at the wreath-laying ceremony. Later, their mortal remains were dispatched to their hometowns in Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based White Knight Corps Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, Deputy Commissioner Rajouri Vikas Kundal, Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri Amritpal Singh, and other officers and ranks of the Army also paid floral tributes.
