Twin terror strikes in Jammu kill 10, PM says talks still on
3 terrorists cross border, attack police station and army camp, also killed; Manmohan says Sharif meeting on track
JAMMU / NEW DELHI: Three terrorists stormed a police station and an army camp in Jammu on Thursday, killing 10 people before they were shot dead at the end of a fierce gunfight that lasted several hours.
The deadly attack comes days ahead of talks between the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers in New York, and immediately led to debate on whether it should take place. But PM Manmohan Singh said the dialogue process must go on, calling the twin attacks “one more in a series of provocations and barbaric actions by enemies of peace”.
However, he added that India was resolved to defeat the “terrorist menace that continues to receive encouragement and reinforcement from across the border”.
Singh, who turned 81, didn’t cut a cake on board the flight to Washington as a mark of respect for those killed — four police and four army personnel, and two civilians. “I convey my condolences to the families of the brave army and police officers and the innocent civilians martyred in this cowardly attack,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “Given the history, timing and location, the aim is to derail the proposed meeting between PM Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart.”
The terrorists, in army fatigue, crossed the international border and boarded a vegetable truck at gunpoint to reach Hiranagar police station in Kathua district at 6.45am, official sources said. They shot and killed a shopkeeper and the sentry before barging in. “Inside, they killed four police personnel,” said IG Rajesh Kumar.
The three men then killed the truck’s cleaner and drove to the heavily fortified army camp in Samba, 40km from Jammu. In the officers’ mess, they shot dead Lt Col Bikramjeet Singh and three jawans. As a firefight broke out, the army pressed in choppers to locate the terrorists and rushed additional forces. “At 5pm, all three terrorists were shot dead,” said an officer.
Little -known Shohada Brigade, believed to be a front for the Hizbul Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility.
Denying the hand of Pakistan state agents, its high commissioner to India Salman Bashir said such a “senseless act of violence does not deter us from pursuing a path to a better future for our peoples”.
The border has been tense since August 5, when Pakistani troops killed five Indian soldiers in Poonch sector. There’s also been a massive jump in ceasefire violations by Pakistan this year.