In another terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, the second in two days, two militants attacked an Army camp in Samba on Saturday morning. In the six-hour gunfight, the militants were killed and three Army personnel and a civilian were injured.
“Our soldiers have killed both the militants,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said describing the attack as an attempt by the militants to boost their morale in the present circumstances.
The Army said the two militants, in paramilitary fatigues, tried to barge into the Mesar camp of the Army’s 81 Armoured Unit on the Jammu-Pathankot highway around 5.45 a.m.
“They could not enter the camp because of the heavy security cover. They then ran towards the bushes where the gunfight took place for several hours,” Lt. Col. Manish Mehta told The Hindu. “It is a bushy area and that is why it took time to eliminate them, but we have recovered the bodies of both terrorists from the encounter site.”
The Mesar camp is about 20 km from the International Border between India and Pakistan. It was attacked on September 26, 2013 in which 12 persons, among them a Lieutenant Colonel, were killed.
Officials said three Army personnel, including a Major and a civilian who were wounded in the attack, were shifted to a nearby hospital.
Security agencies are investigating whether the two militants had infiltrated into the area with the same group that carried out Friday’s attack in Kathua, 25 km from the Samba encounter site. On Friday, two militants in paramilitary fatigues attacked a police station in Kathua in Jammu killing three security personnel and a civilian. Both the militants were killed.
J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said the State had been put on high alert following Friday’s attack and the alertness of the Army had averted a tragedy.
“Militants could not launch a bigger attack on Samba as security forces are on high alert,” Mr. Singh said.
