Three soldiers, 2 militants killed in suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir army camp

Both the fidayeen militants were killed in the retaliatory action by the army

Three soldiers were killed in action and two were injured when fidayeen (suicide) militants launched a pre-dawn attack on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's border district of Rajouri on Thursday.

Both the militants, who were detected trying to scale a fence to enter the camp, were killed in the retaliatory action by the army, officials said.

Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh said that “someone tried to cross the fence of the Army camp at Pargal in Darhal area of Rajouri”. Following an exchange of fire, the two militants were killed, he added.

The army's White Knight Corps in a tweet said: “Subedar Rajendra Prasad, Rifleman Manoj Kumar and Rifleman Lakshmanan D succumbed to their injuries making the supreme sacrifice while neutralising 2 terrorists on a suicide attack. We condole their loss and pray for strength for their family members.”

“The operation in Parghal, Rajauri District which led to the elimination of two terrorists who had planned a Suicide Attack further led to large recoveries to include- 2 AK 47 9 Magazines 300 Rounds 5 Grenades Other Administrative Stores,” it added.

Earlier in the day, the army said that two terrorists tried to sneak into a post in the dark at Pargal, Rajouri and were detected and engaged by alert troops “The terrorists have been neutralised. 5 soldiers also suffered injuries and are being treated,” the army added.

The police said the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant outfit was behind the attack, which came just four days ahead of Independence Day. The Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists had earlier attempted to carry out a fidayeen attack on April 22 in Jammu when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to be in town.

However, the two terrorists were killed in a chance encounter with the CISF near the Sunjawan Army camp. An officer of the paramilitary force was killed.

Last year several lethal attacks were carried out by the militants in Rajouri and Poonch districts, also known as Pir-Panjal region. A senior police officer said being Muslim-majority districts of the Jammu region Pakistan wants to revive a lethal phase of militancy in the region.

“The Mughal Road which connects Rajouri-Poonch with the valley has become a major concern for the security forces and intelligence agencies. Militants infiltrating from Pakistan into Rajouri and Poonch find it easy to reach the Valley via Mughal Road. As a large number of trucks move on this road, it becomes easier for militant handlers to even transport weapons” he revealed.