Army busts terror hideout in J&K's Poonch; IEDs, pistol recovered

Mendhar/Jammu: Security forces on Wednesday unearthed a terrorist hideout in a forward village in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district and recovered a cache of arms, including two ready-to-use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and a pistol, officials said.

The recovery was made during a joint cordon and search operation launched by the Army and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the local police at Salani Kasblari village in the Mendhar sector.

The items, which included two grenades and 24 pistol rounds, were found hidden inside a cave.

In a post on X, the Army's White Knight Corps said, "Based on synergised intelligence inputs from own sources and police, a joint operation was launched by the troops of White Knight Corps and SOG Poonch in the Gani Forest area."

"The detailed search led to the recovery of one big IED (4.5 kg), one small IED (800 grams), two Chinese grenades, one 9-mm pistol, two 9 mm rounds and 22 7,62 mm rounds were recovered from the site," it said.

According to officials, the IEDs and the grenades were later destroyed through a controlled explosion. The timely recovery of the consignment has thwarted a potential terror attack in the border district, they said.