Two soldiers killed as terrorists storm J&K army camp, two assailants shot dead

JAMMU: Two soldiers, including a junior army officer, were killed and and nine others, including women and children, injured when a group of heavily-armed JeM militants dressed in army fatigues stormed a military camp here in a pre-dawn attack on Saturday, hurling grenades and spraying automatic gunfire as they entered the family quarters when everyone was asleep, officials said. Two terrorists have been killed so far, while the others are still holed up.

The two killed soldiers were identified as junior commissioned officer (JCO) Madan Lal Chaudhary and NCO (non-commissioned officer) Ashraf Ali, both belonging to the state.

Nine others — five of them women and children including the daughter of the slain JCO who had come to visit her father during school holidays — were injured. Two were in a condition.

“As part of the ongoing operations in Sunjuwan, the army has killed two heavily armed terrorists. The terrorists wearing army combat dress were critical carrying AK-56 assault rifles, amount of ammunition and grenades.

“Search of their belongings confirms the terrorists to be from Jaishe-Muhammad (JeM). Operations are large hand in progress with extreme caution and restraint to safeguard the unarmed soldiers, women and children in the houses,” a Defence statement said.

Most of over 150 houses in the complex have been cleared and occupants moved to safety, it said.

“Operations will continue till all the terrorists are apprehended or killed”.

Besides recovering arms and ammunition from the slain terrorists, JeM flags have also recovered from them. Defence sources said that soldiers at the Sunjuwan Military Station close to Jammu city noticed suspicious movement near the camp around 4.45 am.

Suspecting they could be militants, the soldiers challenged them. But the gunmen hurled grenades and opened fire from automatic weapons, the sources said.