SRINAGAR: A week after five soldiers were killed in a militant attack in the border district of Poonch
in J&K, the Union Territory’s police chief Dilbagh Singh on Friday said three to five militants were involved in the attack.
The militants had used steel-coated bullets that can pierce bulletproof (BP) armoured vests and IED were used by militants, who enjoyed local support.
He said the weapons for the attack were dropped by a drone and six locals have been detained for their alleged involvement in providing shelter and food to militants and helping in their transportation.
“The militants had conducted a recce of the area (Bhimber Gali-Surankote-Poonch Road), where the attack took place on April 20. They selected the spot after the recce and it seems they had a network that informed them about the speed of the vehicle in view of downhill terrain and blind curves,” Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh told reporters in the Darhal area of Rajouri district today.
In the militant attack on April 20, five soldiers were killed and another was critically injured. The militants had snatched soldiers’ weapons before fleeing from the spot. The DGP said three-five militants were involved in the attack.
They had planted IED in the vehicle after jawans sustained injuries in the gunfire. “They used steel-coated bullets to pierce BP vests. The IED explosion caused a fire in the vehicle.”
He said steel-coated bullets were used by militants in the past in Poonch and Rajouri in Kashmir.
“This ammunition was also used in an attack on a minority community in Dangri, Rajouri on January 1 this year.”
Asked whether militants had got any local support, DGP said this kind of attack cannot take place without local support.
“We have arrested a module that was providing support to militants. Six persons have been detained,” he said.