By Sanjeev Pargal & Dinesh Manhotra JAMMU, June 28: In the worst ever fidayeen attack on an army installation, two militants struck at Dogra Regiment’s camp in early hours of this morning at Sunjwan along Narwal by-pass killing 12 army soldiers and wounding seven others including a Lieutenant before being eliminated by the troops. Death toll of army could go up as condition of two army personnel, who were airlifted to Military Hospital in Udhampur this evening, was stated to be serious. Defence authorities maintained a silence on the fidayeen attack refusing to share details with the media except for admitting that 12 army soldiers were killed in the attack and seven others were injured. Both the fidayeens were eliminated in over three hours operation. Two militants, who were wearing army uniforms, sneaked into the army camp that was spread in a vast area, from back side taking cover of the grown up ‘sarkanda’ grass at about 0430 hours today. Sentries on the guard duty at main gate of the camp couldn’t detect movement of the militants. The militants targeted a double storey ‘Barrack-A’, where the army jawans were taking sleep, albeit their target appeared to be the residential quarters of army personnel which were about 300 meters away from the barrack. While one of the militants entered inside the ground floor barrack and started indiscriminate firing on the sleeping army jawans with an AK rifle, the second militant took position outside the barrack. Brigade Commander JS Thind said that the two militants had taken shelter in sarkanda area to enter into the military station, which also houses a Brigade Headquarters, a major training station and multi-storied staff quarters. The army jawans inside the barrack were without weapons as generally before going to sleep, the jawans used to deposit their weapons. In the meantime, the army soldiers sleeping on first floor of the barrack jumped down and went to the strong room to take their weapons. But by that time, according to sources, the fidayeen, who had forced his entry inside the barrack, wreaked havoc killing and injuring a number of army jawans. As the other army jawans came into action after taking their arms, the militant, who had taken position outside the barrack, was eliminated at about 0600 hours. Troops then cordoned off the barrack and strengthened security outside the army’s residential quarters. The militant inside the barrack was killed at about 0800 hours. Soon after the encounter, a bomb disposal squad carried out extensive sanitisation of the entire area near barracks and defused three grenades thrown by the militants. Two AK-47 rifles with Pakistani markings and carrying LeT symbols besides 13 magazines, 470 rounds, 23 grenades, some explosive material and Rs 1800 Pakistani currency were recovered from the militants, the sources said. The barrack, where army suffered maximum casualties, was extensively damaged in the exchange of firing. Some explosive devices were reported to have been used by army in killing the holed-up militant in the barrack which was evident from the sound of explosions heard outside by the civilians and the media persons, who had gathered outside the army camp. Army kept the entire operation a top secret. The media persons of both electronic and print media, who had gathered in a large number outside the camp, were barred from entering inside. Even Army’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lt. Col Bhanwar Rathore expressed his helplessness in briefing the media adequately. Minister of State for Defence Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 16 Corps T P S Brar, GOC Tiger Division, Rajinder Singh and DIG Jammu-Kathua range Farooq Ahmed visited the army camp for reviewing the situation after the fidayeen attack. Identity of the slain militants couldn’t be established but an intercept said one of them could be Abu Hurera (code name). Both of them were belived to be Pakistanis. Significantly, a United Nations Observer, Jees Musegaard also visited the site of fidayeen attack. When asked by EXCELSIOR correspondent outside the army camp about the purpose of his visit, the UN observer said he had just come to have a first hand information of the attack and inform the same to his seniors. He was also seen meeting some army officers inside the army camp to share information on the attack. Sources opined that the fidayeens, in all probability, had planned to strike at the army residential quarters in a replica of Kaluchak incident of May 14 last year wherein they had killed over 35 family members of the army personnel. In that attack, only four army personnel were killed. Sunjwan incident was probably the worst ever fidayeen attack in Jammu as far as the casualties of the army personnel were concerned. Defence authorities declined to disclose identity of the jawans killed in the militant attack. However, they said, one Lieutenant was among the seven injured army personnel, who were shifted to the Military Hospital in Satwari. Later, two of them were airlifted to Military Hospital, Udhampur in view of their critical condition. Bodies of the jawans were also secretly shifted to the Military Hospital in Satwari and were in the process of being shifted to their houses. Today’s fidayeen attack in Jammu came after a gap of about seven months. Last fidayeen attack had taken place simultaneously in Ragunath and Panjbakhtar temples wherein about a dozen people including three security personnel were killed on November 24 last year. An army jawan, who carried the injured to army hospital, apprehended that the militants might have entered the army camp after jumping the boundary wall. "There was adequate security on the entrance of the camp so it was not possible for the militants to pierce through that security cover. " Taking advantage of the darkness, the militants might have made their entry after jumping over from boundary wall, he said. "For quite some time it was virtual chaos and confusion and we were not aware of the militant attack", he added. Residents of Sunjwan too were not aware of the militant attack. "I was thinking that soldiers were practicing so we took it lightly", said Bashir Ahmed. "It was after about half an hour of heavy firing when we came to know that the militants have attacked the army camp,’’ he said. Meanwhile, apprehending more suicide attacks, army today put all its units in the State on high alert and announced that anti-militancy sweeps throughout the State would be stepped up. Army sources said that according to preliminary reports the two militants who had carried out the suicide attack had crossed the border within the last 48 hours with specific instructions to carry out big fidayeen strikes. Army spokesman Brig Shruti Kant told Excelsior on telephone from New Delhi that "leads on the militants and their linkages are being followed up". The militants, he said, entered the army camp dressed in army uniform and followed the pattern of May 14, 2002 attack on army barracks at Kaluchak when 35 family members of jawans were slain. Though intelligence reports had warned of such attacks, Brig Shruti Kant said that tall sarkanda grass around the Sunjwan camp had prevented the detection of militants. Army have now ordered cutting of all such growth near cantonment areas and army border camps. The spokesman said post operation Sarp Vinash launched to flush militants from their hideouts in the Surankote heights has now been widened with similar smaller scale operations being undertaken in other areas of Doda. Army sources said that militants were increasingly taking to crossing of the International Border between Pathankot and Jammu, as deployment along the Line of Control was heavy with a number of sensitive sensors put in place. " Though nearly 58 kms of the 98 kms long Jammu -Pathankot sector has been fenced, the militants still manage to sneak in from the areas where the fencing has still to be undertaken", sources said. According to official estimates, the entire stretch of the International Border would be fenced by the end of next year. Top army officials said that heavy firing by Pakistani Rangers was delaying the fencing work. The army simultaneously is undertaking fencing work on vulnerable stretches of Line of Control between Rajouri and Poonch sectors. Over 5,000 army engineers are engaged in constructing the electric fencing about six to eight miles inside Indian territory and already a 68 kms stretch has been fenced. Sunjwan village, where the militants struck early today, had earlier also been in news for some militancy-related cases. A Pakistani militant was arrested from Sunjwan last year who had managed to obtain a state subject and purchased a plot for erecting a house. Later, four harbourers of the militants were also arrested from Sunjwan. They had given shelter to two Pakistani militants, who had executed the massacre of 32 civilians at Rajiv Nagar on July 13 last year. The Pakistani militants, involved in the killings, had also taken shelter at Raika forests, near Sunjwan, where one of them was killed and another apprehended. Prior to that, the Special Operations Group (SOG), Jammu had apprehended a hardcore militant, hailing from Doda, from near the residence of the then Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. Despite such a number of incidents, no major search operation was launched either by the security forces or by the police to flush out the militants, reliable sources said. Meanwhile, the sources pointed out, the sale of army uniforms was another factor which facilitated the fidayeen attacks. Despite a ban imposed on the sale of army uniforms by the district administration, such uniforms are readily available in several markets in Jammu, they said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has strongly condemned militants’ pre-dawn attack on army camp at Sunjwan killing 12 jawans. In a message, the Chief Minister said that perpetrators of violence appear to be frustrated at the people’s yearning for peace, which has given turn around to the situation. By targeting the camps, they have once again proved that their only objective is to shed blood and create terror, unmindful of the larger interests of the people of the State. Incident coming at a stage when India and Pakistan are moving step-by-step towards lasting peace in the sub-continent, it is highly despicable. No right thinking person can ever approve any senseless act, he added and conveyed his personal condolences to the bereaved families. |
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