Jammu: Security has been beefed up and checking of vehicles intensified in the Poonch sector after suspected militants attacked a convoy of vehicles last evening.
According to official sources search operations are underway by the Army and other security forces besides police in Poonch after the firing incident. Taking to its official handle on X, the Indian Army’s White Knight Corps informed there were no casualties in the incident and a search operation by the troops and Jammu and Kashmir Police was underway. It may be mentioned here that at around 1800 hours yesterday, a Security Forces convoy of vehicles was fired upon by suspected militants from a jungle near the Krishna Ghati Poonch sector. On Thursday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a meeting with the senior officers, deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of police (SSP) of Jammu division and discussed issues concerning the development and security in the Jammu division. The meeting emphasised the need for a comprehensive strategy for crackdowns against drug smugglers, drug hot-spots and cross-border smuggling.
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, which were peaceful in the past, have witnessed targeted attacks by the militants on the army and civilians, they said.
Nineteen soldiers were killed in four attacks by the militants in Rajouri and Poonch in 2023. However, the security forces eliminated more than 30 militants in the two districts last year both on the Line of Control as well as in the hinterland.
During the last fortnight, high-level security meetings were chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to deal with the situation in the Rajouri-Poonch region.
Security beefed up after fresh attack in Poonch sector
