Five Armymen were killed on Thursday afternoon in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district when their vehicle was fired on by “unidentified militants”, who “took advantage of heavy rains and low visibility in the area”, the HQ Northern Command said.
Five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counterterrorist operations in the area died in the incident, said the Army. Another soldier, who was seriously injured in the attack, was evacuated to the hospital and is under treatment.
“Operations are in progress to locate the perpetrators. Further details are being ascertained,” the Northern Command said.
The dead have been identified as Hav Mandeep Singh, L/Nk Kulwant Singh, Sep Harkrishan Singh and Sep Sewak Singh from Punjab, and L/Nk Debashish Baswal from Odisha.
“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,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: “News of the martyrdom of 5 of our soldiers in the terror attack in Poonch is very sad. I pay my humble tributes to the heroes and express my deepest condolences to their families.”
