Poonch terror attack: Names of five soldiers killed released by Indian Army

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The Indian Army on Thursday released the names of five soldiers killed in a terrorist attack on a truck in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch. The deceased soldiers are Havildar Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Debashish Baswal, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh, Sepoy Harkrishan Singh and Sepoy Sewak Singh.

In a tweet, the Army's 16 Corps based in Nagrota, Whiteknight, said, "White Knight Corps salutes the sacrifice of Hav Mandeep Singh, L/Nk Debashish Baswal, L/Nk Kulwant Singh, Sep Harkrishan Singh, Sep Sewak Singh, who laid down their lives in the line of duty in the Poonch Sector today. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved families."

Army's additional directorate general of public information (ADG-PI) tweeted that Army Staff General Manoj Pande and all ranks of the Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of five soldiers.

"General Manoj Pande #COAS and All Ranks of #IndianArmy salute the supreme sacrifice of 05 #IndianArmy Bravehearts, Hav Mandeep Singh, L/Nk Debashish Baswal, L/Nk Kulwant Singh, Sep Harkrishan Singh & Sep Sewak Singh who laid down their lives in the line of duty at #Poonch Sector," the tweet read.

What happened in Poonch?

Five soldiers were killed and one injured in a terror attack in Pooch on Thursday.

An Army vehicle was moving between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir when unidentified terrorists fired upon it. The vehicle caught fire due to the likely use of grenades by terrorists.

"Five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit deployed for Counter Terrorist operations, in this area, have unfortunately lost their lives in the incident," the Army said in a statement.

The soldier, who sustained serious injuries, was evacuated immediately and rushed to the Army Hospital at Rajouri, and is currently under treatment.

Massive search operations underway

Security forces have now 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, officials told the news agency PTI.

They said that a high alert had been sounded in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch amid close vigil along the Line of Control. Traffic on the Bhimber Gali-Poonch road was stopped following the incident, and people have been advised to go to Poonch via Mendhar.

(With agency inputs)