Two terror incidents in Jammu; 7 armymen, 6 terrorists killed

Jammu:Two major terror attacks rocked Jammu region today in which 7 army personnel, including a Major, were killed and eight other securitymen, including a BSF DIG, were injured, before six heavily-armed terrorists were eliminated in the separate fierce encounters.

In one incident, a group of heavily-armed terrorists in police uniform stormed an army unit in Nagrota, about three kms from the Corps headquarters on the outskirts of Jammu city this morning, triggering an intense gunbattle that lasted for hours.

Seven army personnel, including two officers, were killed in this attack before three terrorists were killed in an armed stand-off which also involved a hostage-like situation with 12 soldiers, two ladies and two children being held captive. All were rescued, army spokesman said.

Three terrorists were gunned down by BSF in Ramgarh area of Samba near the International Border after an encounter that lasted several hours and was followed by intense cross-border firing by Pakistani troops. Four security personnel, including BSF DIG, were injured in this incident.

The two terror incidents in Jammu came on a day Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa took over as Chief of Pakistan Army from Gen Raheel Shareef.

Giving details of the Nagrota attack, army spokesman said in the early hours of today, a group of heavily-armed terrorists, disguised in police uniform, targeted the army unit located three kms from the Corps Headquarters.

“The terrorists forced their entry into the Officers’ Mess complex by throwing grenades and firing at the sentries,” the spokesman said.

“In the initial counter action, one officer and three soldiers of the army were martyred,” he added.

The terrorists entered two buildings which were occupied by officers, families and men, which “led to a hostage-like situation”, he said.

“The situation was very quickly contained and thereafter, in a deliberate operation, all were successfully rescued, which included 12 soldiers, two ladies and two children,” the spokesman said.

“However, in this rescue attempt, one more officer and two jawans sacrificed their lives,” he added.

In the gunbattle, three terrorists were killed.

“Bodies of three terrorists have been recovered and operations are in progress to santise the complete area,” the spokesman said.

Among the soldiers who died was a Major.

In the wake of the terror attack on 166 Artillery unit of the army, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed for traffic in the area and was reopened this evening.

The unit is located about 3 kms from Army’s 16 Corps which oversees all military operations in Jammu region.

The district administration has closed all schools in Nagorta tehsil as a precautionary measure.

“We have ordered closure of all schools and education institutions in Nagrota tehsil in view of the terror attack,” Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh said.

Separately, at around the same time, BSF personnel in Ramgarh area of Samba were engaging three terrorists who were trying to infiltrate from Pakistan.

BSF said it detected suspicious movement of three persons late last night and a quick reaction team of the force swung into action, laying cordon in the area.

“On realising that they have been trapped, the militants started firing automatic weapons and lobbing grenades on the BSF troops.

“Unable to move further, the militants got holed up in a nearby tube well hut. Taking advantage of the cover, they kept firing intermittently till the day break. The area was kept under intense surveillance by the troops deployed awaiting day break,” the BSF said in a statement.

At daybreak, the BSF personnel “made their move and with precise and stable fire, neutralised the three militants quickly,” it said, adding one constable Shyamal Ahirwar sustained bullet injury in his wrist.

Throughout the morning hours, Pakistan kept firing intermittently to provide cover to the militants, it said.

In the ensuing events, BSF’s Jammu DIG B S Kasana, Inspector Sarabjit Singh of India Reserve Battalion and constable Vaibhav of BSF sustained injuries, it said.

All the injured were immediately evacuated to military hospital and were reported to be stable, the statement said.

18 magazines, 25 live grenades, three IED waist belts, five chain IEDs (used to blow up railway tracks) and a wireless set were recovered from the slain terrorists.

“Had BSF not successfully contained and eliminated the terrorists, they could have caused massive damage in the mainland. It was only because of BSF’s multi-tier security cover that this calamity was averted effectively,” BSF spokesman said.

The area is being sanitised.

Parrikar briefs Modi on Nagrota army camp attack

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today briefed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the deadly attack by terrorists on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir which left seven soldiers dead.

Earlier, army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag briefed Parrikar about the attack.

The Ministry is also likely to seek a formal report from the army about the assault which came just two months after the deadly Uri terror strike.

Sources said the Prime Minister was briefed in the morning and again after the operation was over.

A group of heavily-armed terrorists in police uniform stormed an army unit in Nagrota, about three kms from the Corps headquarters on the outskirts of Jammu city this morning, triggering an intense gunbattle that lasted for several hours.

Seven army personnel, including two officers, were killed in the attack before three terrorists were eliminated in an armed face-off which also involved a hostage-like situation with 12 soldiers, two women and as many children being held captive. All were later rescued, army spokesman said.

Bravery of officers’ wives averts hostage crisis in Nagrota

Tejinder Singh Sodhi
Nagrota: Bravery of the wives of two army officers who were staying in the family quarters helped in averting a major hostage crisis during the encounter that took place in Nagrota area of Jammu today.

Soon after the heavily armed terrorists disguised in police uniform entered an army unit located within three kms from the headquarters of the 16 Corps, they wanted to enter the family quarters where they could take the families of the soldiers and officers hostage.

However, due to the bravery of these two women, who were staying in the family quarters along with their newborns, the plans of the terrorists could not materialise.

“The wives of the two army officers, who were on night duty when the encounter broke out, displayed exemplary courage as they blocked the entry of their quarters with all the household items, making it difficult for the terrorists to break into the houses,” an army officer privy to the encounter told PTI.

Had the women not shown this alertness, the terrorists would have been able to take them hostage and would have succeeded in causing huge damage to the army and the families, he said.

“The terrorists entered two buildings which were occupied by officers, families and men. This led to a hostage-like situation. The situation was very quickly contained and thereafter, in a deliberate operation all were successfully rescued, which included 12 soldiers, two women and two babies,” Defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said.

The two babies rescued are 18 months and two months old, the officer said.

However, in the rescue attempt one more officer and two jawans sacrificed their lives, the spokesman said.

He said the bodies of three terrorists have been recovered and operations were in progress to sanitise the complete area.

“The terrorists forced their entry into the Officers Mess complex by throwing grenades and firing at the sentries. In the initial counter action, one officer and three soldiers of the Army were martyred,” he said.

The Army has not called off the operation but suspended it as they want to be fully sure that the area has been completely sanitised.

“The operation is going on, we have suspended it for the night, but the area has been placed under tight cordon, the Army does not want to take any risk and we will resume the operations with the first light of the morning,” the spokesman said.

Nagrota attack is Pak army chief’s message to India: VK Singh

New Delhi: The terror attack at Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir today is a “message” sent by Pakistan’s newly appointed army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to India, former Home Secretary R K Singh said.

“We need to take note of the fact that this is the (Pakistan) new Army chief sending a message. His policy will be same as followed by the predecessor…We (also) need to send across a message to him,” he said.

“India will hit back harder every time it is targeted,” he said.

The BJP MP’s remarks came after militants in police uniform attacked an Army artillery unit in Nagrota, killing three Army personnel, including an officer, and leaving several others injured.

Singh said Pakistan continued to “bleed” India through such terrorist attacks, adding that the recently conducted PoK surgical strike by the Indian Army was not a “one-off” event.

“It was a statement of policy…Our policy is that we will hit you back every time you hit us. We will hit you back harder. So, I think a couple of more time we hit them back, it will certainly settle in their mind,” he said.

The BJP leader added that India needed to “follow up on its policy of imposing cost” and that the “Army should revisit the security procedure in general, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.” PTI

Bajwa takes over as army chief;Raheel warns India over Kashmir

From Sajjad Hussain
Islamabad:General Qamar Javed Bajwa, an expert in PoK affairs, today took over as Pakistan’s new army chief succeeding Gen Raheel Sharif, who warned India against adopting an “aggressive stance” in Kashmir.

Gen Raheel handed over the command of world’s sixth-largest army by troop numbers to 57-year-old Bajwa at a ceremony held in the Army Hockey Stadium, close to the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday appointed Bajwa as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by elevating him to the rank of four-star general.

Raheel in January had declared that he would not seek extension. There were speculation that the PML-N government would give him extension at the eleventh hour citing reasons that he was needed by the country to lead war on terror. The post of Army chief is the most powerful in Pakistan.

In his final speech as the army chief, 60-year-old Gen Raheel cautioned India against adopting an aggressive stance in the region.

He said that in recent months “India’s increasing terrorism and aggressive stance” in Kashmir have “endangered” the region.

“India should know that mistaking our policy of patience for weakness would be dangerous,” he said.

“This is reality, that in South Asia, lasting peace and progress is impossible without solution of the Kashmir issue.

For that, international community’s special attention is necessary,” he said.

He also stressed the need for institutions to work together for the nation’s progress.

“It is important that all institutions work together against external threats and internal threats. For this, we will need to follow the National Action Plan in letter and spirit,” Gen Raheel said.

“The army will remain alert to threats, whether external or internal,” he said.

For regional peace, he said, issues should be resolved politically.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a major factor in ensuring regional peace, he said.

“The departure of the first cargo from Gwadar port has shown this journey cannot be halted now,” he warned. “The time is here now that the enemies of CPEC stop working against it and become a part of it.”

Bajwa was eariler serving as Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation and also commanded the famed 10 Corps, the army`s largest, which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC).

As a major general, Bajwa led the Force Command Northern Areas. He also served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel.

He also served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander.

The new army chief has wide experience of LoC affairs due to his extensive involvement with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and northern areas.

According to reports, General Bajwa’s “pro-democracy credentials” and his low-profile influenced the Prime Minister to appoint him to the powerful post of army chief superseding four top generals.

The military has been in charge of the country for more than half of Pakistan’s nearly 70-year history since independence from Britain.