Rajouri terror attack on Army truck planned, bullets with Chinese markings recovered

A day after terrorists attacked an Indian Army truck carrying soldiers from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations, it is emerging the terror strike may have been meticulously planned and executed.

According to sources, initial investigations pointed towards firing from three directions at the army truck using sophisticated weapons.

Sources revealed that 7.62mm Steel Core bullets were recovered along with ammunition with stamping of a Chinese weapons factory. The 7.62 mm bullets are armour piercing rounds.

The initial probe has also found that the fuel tank exploded from within, and multiple bullet exit holes in the truck's frame. The terrorists used grenades to blow up the truck even as they unleashed heavy gunfire on the vehicle.

Five Indian Army soldiers, identified as Havildar Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Debashish Baswal, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh, Sepoy Harkrishan Singh and Sepoy Sewak Singh were killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch.

According to the Northern Command, the vehicle was travelling between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector when around 3 pm it was fired upon by terrorists. The terrorists took advantage of heavy rains and low visibility in the area. 

Security forces, meanwhile, have launched a massive search operation in the dense forests of the Bata-Doriya area. The entire area has been cordoned off while drones and sniffer dogs are being used to sniff out the terrorists that might be hiding in the area, they said. Besides, a high alert has also been sounded in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch amid close vigil along the Line of Control.

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