Amid an ongoing search operation in the Dera Ki Gali of Poonch district, forces foiled an infiltration attempt on the International Border (IB) in the Khour sector of the Akhnoor sub-division of Jammu and Kashmir.
One terrorist was reportedly killed while three others returned to Pakistan due to firing by the forces as security forces guarding the International Border (IB) thwarted an infiltration attempt here early Saturday, officials said.
The operation happened when a group of four heavily armed terrorists was noticed attempting to sneak into this side from across the IB in the Khour sector of Akhnoor in the early hours, the officials said.
They said the troops brought down effective fire on the infiltrating terrorists and one of them was hit and fell.
However, the body of the deceased was dragged back by his associates across the IB, the officials said.
Infiltration bid foiled in IB sector of #Khour, #Akhnoor. Suspected move of four terrorists seen through own surveillance devices on the night of 22/23 Dec 23. Effective fire brought down. Terrorists seen dragging one body back across the IB.@adgpi@NorthernComd_IA
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) December 23, 2023
"Infiltration bid foiled in IB sector of Khour, Akhnoor. Suspected move of four terrorists seen through own surveillance devices on the night of December 22/23," army's White Knight Corps said in a social media post, adding, "Effective fire brought down. Terrorists seen dragging one body back across the IB".
Senior officers camping at Poonch to supervise search operation
While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) already started investigations into Thursday's terror attack on two Army vehicles near Dera Ki Gali in the Surankote area of Poonch district GOC Nagrota Corps Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, Director General of Police (DGP) RR Swain, and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Zone Anand Jain are camping at Poonch coordinating search operations against the terrorists involved in the strike.
After the terror attack, senior officers rushed to the spot to coordinate the ongoing combing and search operation of the forest areas of Dera Ki Gali and adjoining localities to track down the terrorists involved in this attack in which four soldiers lost their lives in the line of duty.
DGP RR Swain and IGP Jammu Zone Anand Jain also visited the spot along with police officials of Poonch to review the situation and devise a strategy to intensify search operations against the terrorists and eliminate them. Both the senior officers are camping in the area.
An official said aerial monitoring using helicopters is also being conducted and sniffer dogs have been pressed into service to track down the terrorists who ambushed two Army vehicles in the area.
As reported earlier the two Army vehicles carrying troops to the site of a cordon-and-search operation came under attack at a blind curve at Dhatyar Morh between Dera Ki Gali and Bufliaz under the jurisdiction of Surankote police station on Thursday.
Four soldiers namely Naik Birendra Singh, Naik Driver Karan Kumar, Rifleman Chandan Kumar, and Rifleman Gautam Kumar lost their lives in the line of duty.
Terrorists used US-made M4 riffle in Dera Ki Gali attack
Preliminary investigations established that the terrorists used US-made M4 rifles in the attack. They were believed to be the activists of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) or Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfits though it was People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) that has claimed responsibility.
"US-made M4 rifles have earlier also been used by the terrorists. These weapons have been seized by security forces during encounters as well in the Kashmir valley," reports said.
Officials said Pakistani terrorists reportedly trained in Afghanistan are reported to have carried out the terror attack with active local support.
