States & UTs

    5 soldiers slain when militants ambush army truck in Poonch

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    Nidhi Khurana
    April20/ 2023
    Last Updated:

    Poonch: Terrorists ambushed a vehicle carrying five soldiers in the Poonch region of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, taking advantage of the rain and low visibility.

    They further reported that another soldier was critically injured and taken to the Army Hospital in Rajouri.

    Terrorists in the Rajouri sector took advantage of heavy rains and bad visibility today and opened fire on an Army vehicle travelling between Bhimber Gali and Poonch at around 1500 hours. Terrorists "likely used grenades" to start the fire, according to a statement released by Northern Command Headquarters.

    According to the report, the five dead soldiers were all part of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit and had been sent to the area to conduct anti-terrorist operations.

    The statement claimed that operations are underway to identify the offenders and that more information is still being gathered.

    They were travelling from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in Poonch when their vehicle caught fire, according to a defence official in Jammu.

    Authorities from Poonch and the surrounding area, some 90 kilometres away, have hurried to the scene.—Inputs from Agencies