Two soldiers killed in Jammu and Kashmir (Second Lead)

JAMMU - Two soldiers were killed early Friday in an ambush by terrorists in Tandar village in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the “deadliest attack” by militants this year, an army officer said.

The terrorists attacked an army patrol that was on its way to a suspected militant hideout in Tandar in Dachhan area, about 240 km northeast of Jammu.

“This came as a surprise to the Indian troops, when they (militants) fired with their automatic AK-47 assault rifles in Tandar area. Two soldiers were killed - Lance Naik Jagdish Raj of 11 battalion of Rashtriya Rifles and Raj Kumar, a sepoy with the Territorial Army.

“This was the deadliest attack by terrorists in the hinterland of Jammu and Kashmir,” this year, said an officer of 16 corps.

The soldiers of 16 corps are manning the Line of Control (LoC) and battling insurgency in most of the Jammu region.

Soldiers have been engaged in searches and battling inclement weather as it has been raining in the area. Also, there is a thick forest where the attackers were suspected to be hiding.

“Our jawans (soldiers) are scanning the area despite these odds (of weather and terrain) against them,” the officer said.

He said the ambush was an act of desperation as the soldiers have been dominating the area and had killed a top militant of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen group last week.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen are believed to be active in the mountainous area of Kishtwar district.

The terrorists have shot and killed policemen in the Kashmir valley but in Tandar this was the first incident in 2010 where soldiers were targeted.

“It’s not a new situation for us, we will go after the terrorists each and everywhere in the state, they would not be allowed to get away with such assaults or their bid to disturb peace,” the army officer said.