Four soldiers martyred, twoterrorists killed in ‘Fidayeen’ attack on Rajouri Army camp
   Date :12-Aug-2022

Four soldiers martyred 
 
 
 
JAMMU, 
TERRORISTS attacked an Army camp in Rajouri district on Thursday killing four soldiers and the two attackers were gunned down in the shootout after the pre-dawn suicide strike that marked the return of ‘fidayeen’ to J&K after more than three years. Both the terrorists, who are believed to be from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), were heavily armed with deadly ‘steel core’ bullets and were shot down after an over four-hour gunbattle which started at 2 am and ended just before 6.30 am, police said. The attack came four days ahead of India’s 75th Independence Day next Monday.
Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told PTI that the two ‘fidayeens’ (suicide attackers), believed to be from the banned JeM, attempted to sneak into the camp but were neutralised. Giving details, Defence spokesman at Jammu Lt Colonel Devender Anand said, alert sentries of the Army post at Parghal in Rajouri district in the Jammu region, about 185 km from Jammu city, detected suspicious persons approaching their post taking advantage of the inclement weather and dense foliage.
He said, the sentries challenged the two terrorists who lobbed grenades while attempting to gain entry inside the post. However, alert troops cordoned the area and engaged them in a firefight, he added.
Lt Colonel Anand said, in the ensuing gunfight, the two terrorists were neutralised.
Six soldiers of the Army were injured in the operation and of them, four succumbed to injuries while repulsing the suicide attack, he added. The slain Army personnel were identified as Subedar Rajendra Prasad (of Maligoven village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district), Rifleman Lakshmanan D (of T Pudupatti village in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu), Rifleman Manoj Kumar (of Shahjahanpur village in Haryana’s Faridabad), and Rifleman Nishant Malik (of Adarsh Nagar village in Haryana’s Hisar). “The Indian Army salutes the bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, upholding the highest tradition of the force. The nation will always remain indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” he added. According to eyewitnesses, the first gunshot was heard around 2 am when the terrorists attempted to breach the external fence of the Army camp.
The attack marks the return of ‘fidayeen’ to the Union Territory of J&K after more than three years. The last such strike took place on February 14, 2019 at Lethpora in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. There was an Intelligence input about the presence of terrorists from the JeM in the region and police and other security agencies were carrying out operations in various parts of the district, police said.
Security forces and the police had been put on alert following Intelligence inputs on suspected movement of terrorists in the Rajouri belt, prompting them to launch a combing operation in Darhal and Nowshera belt on Wednesday.