India condemns the Ramadan success of Islamist Attack to kill 5 Army soldiers in J&K.

J&K: 5 soldiers killed as Islamist terrorists ambush Army vehicle in Poonch during Ramadan.

Upendra Bharti | HENB | New Delhi | April 20, 2023:: Ramadan is not a ‘prohibited month’ according to the manual of Islamist terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). They celebrated  Eid Mubarak by hurling grenades at the Army convoy on the eve of Eid-ul-fitr . Five Sikh-Hindu personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit deployed for counterterrorist operations in the Rajouri sector have unfortunately lost their lives in the incident. Another soldier was seriously injured and he was evacuated immediately to the Army hospital at Rajouri.

The unfortunate incident happened on Thursday after their vehicle caught fire following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch, the Army said.

The deceased Army soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counterterror operations, the Army said in a statement.

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande has briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the incident.

“Anguished by the tragedy in Poonch District (J&K), where the Indian Army has lost its brave soldiers after a truck caught fire. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families,” the defence minister tweeted.

The Army said the vehicle the soldiers were travelling in came under fire from unidentified terrorists and it caught fire because of the likely use of grenades.

“Today (Thursday), at approximately 1500 hours, one Army vehicle, moving between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajauri sector was fired on by unidentified terrorists, taking advantage of heavy rains and low visibility in the area,” the Army said.

“The vehicle caught fire, due to likely use of grenades by terrorists,” it said.

It is the deadliest attack after Pulwama in 2019 where 40 CRPF personnel were killed by Islamist terrorists as said.

The five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit deployed for counterterrorist operations in this area have unfortunately lost their lives in the incident, it said. The Army said another soldier was seriously injured and he was evacuated immediately to the Army hospital at Rajouri.

The Army’s 16 Corps, based in Nagrota, said the deceased soldiers are: Havildar Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Debashish Baswal, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh, Sepoy Harkrishan Singh and Sepoy Sewak Singh.

“The Whitenight corps stand in solidarity with the bereaved families,” it said in a tweet.

Sources said officials saw bullet marks on the vehicle and also recovered fragments of grenades confirming it was a terror attack.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said he was anguished at the loss of lives of the brave soldiers.

The terrorist groups in J&K are supported by the Pakistani intelligence agency IInter Services Intelligence (ISI) and many other Jehadi terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Harkat-Ul-Ansar (HUA), Harkat-Ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HUJI) and others.

Apprehending the Pakistani and Jehadi hands in such attacks, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal staged a protest on the Tawi bridge in Jammu city later in the evening and raised anti-Pakistan slogans.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone and many leaders of political and social forums condemned the terrorist attack between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector in J&K.

In a tweet, Advocate Anjur Sharma, the founder of Ekam Sanatan Bharat expressed his anguish as “5 Soldiers martyred in a Jihadi attack in Poonch today. Reason: Govt’s refusal to call the problem by its real name (Jihad) because of “Muslim Veto” on the issue (Triptikaran) P.M/HM/LG publicly lie about the State of Terrorism in J&K“…

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__Inputs from PTI.