One BSF jawan was killed while another injured when terrorists tonight carried out a ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack on a BSF and adjoining army camps in Baramulla, barely four days after the Indian Special Forces smashed seven terror launch pads during a surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC).
The terrorist, who gained entry into the 46 RR camp through an adjoining BSF camp, fired indiscriminately and lobbed grenades as well. During the firing, two BSF jawans were injured who were rushed to the nearby hospital, officials said, adding one of the personnel succumbed to injuries at the operation table.
The spokesman for Srinagar-based XV corps Col Rajesh Kalia said terrorists fired at an army camp at Jabanzpora in Baramulla and the firing was still on.
The skies in Baramulla, 54 kms from here, saw illuminators being fired by the army to locate the terrorists who had sneaked into the 46 battalion of Rashtriya Rifles.
Sources said there was some firing from adjacent houses located near the camp, which is located on the banks of river Jhelum.
However, the official Twitter handle of Udhampur-based Northern Command said “Baramulla Incident situation contained and under control”.
The attack comes despite intelligence inputs about possible terrorist attacks on security installations in Jammu and Kashmir after the Indian army carried out surgical strikes on September 29.
Yesterday’s strike came exactly a fortnight after terrorists struck at army brigade headquarters at Uri, 102 kms from here killing 19 soldiers.
The camp is located on the outskirts of Baramulla city, 54 kms from Srinagar.
Personnel of the border guarding force BSF, which is under the operational command of the Army in this area, jointly stay in the camp with the soldiers, they said.
This is the second biggest attack on an army installation in the valley in less than two weeks since Uri terror attack, that had left at least 20 Indian soldiers killed.
This came just days after Indian army carried out cross border surgical strikes.
The attack has also taken place on the day Pakistani troops launched firing and shelling on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Pallanwala sector of Jammu district this evening.
“Firing and shelling from across LoC has started at 1915 hours in forward areas in Pallanwala belt along the LoC. It is intermittently going on,” a Police officer told PTI.
He said it was not yet known if there were any causality.
Meanwhile, PRO (Defence) said he had no idea about it.
This is the sixth ceasefire violation since Indian army carried out surgical strikes the terrorists launch pad in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
BSF Inspector General (Kashmir) Vikash Chandra told PTI that “There could be few more terrorists (involved in the attack), may be two more, but that is not confirmed as of now.”
He said the firing started about 10:30 PM yesterday night after the Border Security Force men detected some “suspicious movement” in the vicinity of their camp that they shared with the 46 Rashtriya Rifles of the army.
“Our camp is co-located with the RR. The boys on sentry duty detected suspicious movement and when fire came in they came out of the bunker to effectively take on the terrorists.
Jawan Nitin was grievously injured when a grenade lobbed by terrorists hit him,” he said.
The boys retaliated and repulsed the attack and did not allow the terrorists to enter the camp, the BSF chief in Kashmir Valley said, adding the terrorists melted into the darkness and a search operation is on.
He added that another jawan Pulwinder was hit on his leg during the exchange of fire and both were rushed to hospital in an army vehicle where Nitin succumbed to injuries.
Chandra said the terrorists attacked the camp from a corner where it shares the perimeter with a civilian locality.
“A GPS set, a compass and a wire cutter has been recovered from the spot where militants were holed up opposite the camp.Investigations are underway,” he said.
Senior BSF officials said the slain constable Nitin (24) hailed from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh and had joined the border guarding force in October 1992.
(With PTI inputs)
