Ganesh Kendale
Srinagar: Two soldiers of 18 Rashtriya Rifles and two porters were killed in a terrorist ambush on a military truck carrying supplies near the Nagin area of Botapathri along the LoC, 11km from Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday evening.
Three more RR men and two porters were wounded in the fourth terrorist attack since the new coalition government led by CM Omar Abdullah assumed office in J&K on October 16, though the three-phase assembly elections held from September 18 to October 1 concluded peacefully without major violence.
The Union territory registered an uptick in terrorist attacks and counterterrorism operations this year. The latest deaths brought the total number of security force fatalities to 24 since May 4 – 18 in Jammu region and six in Kashmir. At least 20 terrorists have also been killed. “This surge in violence is alarming and deserves unconditional condemnation,” CM Omar said, offering condolences to the families of those killed. “I also pray for the complete and swift recovery of the injured.”
Earlier in the day, a barber from UP was wounded in an attack in Pulwama district. On Sunday, seven employees of a tunnel-construction company were killed in Ganderbal district, while a 30-year-old migrant worker from Bihar was abducted and killed in Shopian district Friday.
Baramulla ambush resembles past attacks on J&K military convoys
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the attacks and expressed hope for the speedy recovery of the wounded. The ambush occurred between two security checkpoints on the route to Botapathri, 5km from the LoC. The pattern resembled previous attacks on military convoys in J&K, including an ambush on two IAF vehicles on May 4 in Poonch district that resulted in the death of Corporal Vikky Pahade. Four soldiers, including a JCO, and a J&K police constable were killed in an ambush on a military patrol truck in the remote village of Badnota in Kathua district on July 8.
Last year, similar attacks in Poonch and Rajouri districts on Dec 21 and November 22 claimed the lives of nine soldiers, including two captains.
