Five attackers, including three foreign terrorists and two locals, were involved in the “well-planned attack" with the intention of creating a sensation ahead of the planned G20 summit in Pooch district of Jammu and Kashmir that killed five Army personnel from a Rashtriya Rifles unit on Thursday, agency sources told News18 on Friday.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 Crore for the families of the four Punjab soldiers who lost their lives in the attack.
Here are the top updates on the Pooch terror attack
- Officials told News18 the attack on Indian army personnel in the Poonch district was a highly organized and well-planned assault, with the motive of creating a sensation ahead of the G20 summit.
- According to agency sources on Friday, five attackers were suspected to be involved in Thursday’s terrorist attack in the Poonch district, in which five Army soldiers were killed. Among the suspects, three are believed to be foreign terrorists and two are locals.
- Shopkeepers in the area are being questioned by officials to determine if they witnessed any suspicious activity before the firing that occurred during the recent attack.
- J&K Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and two National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams have reached the location where the vehicle was attacked in Poonch district. They are currently conducting an investigation into the terrorist attack.
- Four of the five soldiers are from Punjab — Mandeep Singh (Chankoian Kacan village), Harkrishan Singh (Talwandi Barth village), Kulwant Singh (Charik), Sewak Singh (Bagha) — while Debashish Baswal is from Odisha’s Algum Samil Khandayat.
- Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced Rs 1 crore compensation to the families of the four martyred soldiers from the state in the Poonch terror attack.
- After the incident was reported on Thursday, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande 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 released a statement regarding the attack that took place at approximately 3 pm on Thursday, “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 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 presence of bullet marks on the vehicle and the recovery of grenade fragments confirmed the Poonch incident as a terror attack, according to sources. The Army is currently conducting operations to apprehend the attackers.
(With inputs from Arunima)
Read all the Latest India News here