J&K: 36 rounds from AK-47s, 2 grenades, sticky bomb used in Poonch terror attack

NEW DELHI: A minimum 36 rounds of firing from two AK-47 assault rifles from three sides, lobbing of two grenades of reportedly Chinese make, and a sticky bomb made up the lethal combination that led to killing of five Army personnel travelling in an Army truck, which also caught fire, in Poonch on Thursday.
Sources in the security establishment told TOI that bad weather, hailstorm and forested surroundings worked to the advantage of terrorists who had conducted a thorough reconnaissance, possibly with local support, to identify the spot where the army vehicle would inadvertently slow down, making it easier for them to target it.
The possible sequence, as per a prime facie assessment by agencies involved in the post-blast investigation, is — firing by two terrorists armed with AK-47s followed by lobbing of two grenades and, finally, planting of sticky bomb on the truck, in order to maximise the damage.

As per sources, the AK-47-wielding terrorists were on the move as they fired, which explains the bullet marks found on three sides of the Army truck. The bullets were identified as armour-piercing 7.62mm steel core bullets. Two grenades were thrown at the truck. One grenade is said to have hit the petrol tank, but it possibly did not immediately catch fire, which is why the terrorists planted a sticky bomb. The sticky bomb is likely to have set off remotely, after which the terrorists – who may have been at least 3-4 in number – escaped, possibly through a pre-identified route.

Incidentally, the People’s Anti-Fascist Force (PAFF), a purported front of the Jaish e Mohammad, in a statement owning up to the attack, appears to confirm this sequence of events. As per the statement, the driver was hit in the first volley of fire, bringing the vehicle to a stop. This was followed with fatal fire on other personnel from the front and rear. It added that an IED was placed on the fuel tank which was later blasted.
“The PAFF statement appears to have put out the right sequence of events,” said a senior J&K police officer.
PAFF, banned by the Central government under UAPA earlier this year, has a good social media presence, which it uses to radicalise and recruit J&K youth for terror activities.
Sources are not ruling out local help in the terror attack. The truck was headed for village Sanjote some 7-8 kms away, and had even briefly stopped en route. It seems some local who knew in advance about the route and destination of the truck, tipped off the terrorists, who back-calculated the time when it would be passing the site of the attack. Multiple sources have pointed to an apparent laxity in road opening party duties, possibly on account of bad weather and hailstorm. “Road opening duties are usually carried out with more rigour in Kashmir region, which has a higher presence of terrorists, as compared to Jammu region,” said an officer.

A source said possibility of the attack being carried out by freshly infiltrated terrorists cannot be ruled out, as the site is around 8 km from the LoC “as the crow flies”. A senior J&K government officer said that while people whose phone was active in the area at the time of the attack were picked up for questioning, nothing concrete to point to their involvement has been found.
Around 7-8 terrorists are reportedly active in the Rajouri-Poonch area. In 2021, 9 Army personnel were killed during an operation launched against some infiltrated terrorists. While civilian killings were 0 in 2020 and one each in 2021 and 2022, 7 civilians were killed in two terror incidents in Dhangri village of Rajouri earlier this year.