Monitor News Bureau
Srinagar, Feb 11: The death toll in an attack on an Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir was put at nine on Sunday as Army chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in Jammu to review the anti-militant operation at the site even as it was not confirmed whether or not the operation was officially over.
On early Saturday morning, at least three militants struck the sprawling camp of the 36 brigade of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry at Sunjuwan area, triggering a gunbattle which left two Army personnel including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) dead on the day.
Sunday saw the casualty figure rising with the killing of three more soldiers and a civilian. Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Devendra Anand said three militants had been killed in the fighting that broke out before dawn.
Earlier reports said four militants were killed, but the spokesman said he could confirm the killing of only three attackers. According to him, all the attackers were in Army fatigues.
Five soldiers and father of one of the slain soldiers were killed in the operation.
“The father of a soldier also lost his life. So far, we have killed three militants,” Col Anand told the media. All the five soldiers killed belonged to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Search and sanitization operation is still on inside the camp. AK-56 rifles, a grenade launcher, ammunition and grenades have been seized from the dead militants,” Col Anand said.
11 other persons, including six women and children, were injured in the attack.
The five slain army personnel and one civilian were identified as:
Sub. Madan Lal Choudhary (1st Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, JAK LI), Sub. Mohd Ashraf Mir (1st JAK LI), Hav. Habib-Ullah Qurashi (1st JAK LI), NK Manzoor Ahmed (1st JAK LI), L/NK Mohd Iqbal (1st JAK LI), and father of L/NK Mohd Iqbal (civilian).
The spokesperson said Army doctors worked through the night to save the life of a severely injured pregnant lady who delivered a baby girl through Caesarian surgery.
A 14-year-old boy with a gunshot wound in the head remains critical, he said.
Asked if more attackers could still be holed up inside the camp, the official neither denied nor confirmed the possibility. The fighting has lasted more than 30 hours.
The audacious attack was blamed on the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad militants who sneaked into the Army base station around 4.45 a.m. on Saturday.
The militants– whose nationality is not known — entered the Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) quarters while everyone was asleep.
Para-commandos from the Army’s Udhampur-headquartered Northern Command were flown to tackle the militants. The Air Force provided aerial surveillance.
Army Chief reaches Jammu
NIA team arrives too
Srinagar, Feb 11: Army Chief Bipin Rawat arrived in Jammu on Sunday to take stock of the ongoing Fidayeen attack at Sunjwan army installation, Times of India reported.
According to reports, Gen Rawat met senior commanders to take stock of the situation.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team too reached Sunjwan Army Camp in Jammu to take stock of the situation after the attack.
The militants stormed the army camp in the wee hours of Saturday killing five security personnel and one civilian.
In addition, at least 11 people were injured including a pregnant woman.
The Army has killed at least three in the ongoing search operation.
The army sources said that there was no firing during the night and the focus continued to be the evacuation of people from the family quarters.
Pertinent to mention, in the ongoing encounter, five soldiers, one civilian and at least three militants were killed.
Injured woman delivers baby girl
Srinagar, Feb 11: In what is no less than a miracle, a pregnant woman, who was seriously injured during the militant attack on an Army camp in Sunjwan area of Jammu, delivered a baby girl following a Caesarean surgery.
A Twitter user shared a picture of the baby girl on the social networking website, terming the incident as no less than a miracle.
According to reports, the 35-week pregnant lady was shot in her lower back after the militants attack army camp.
The woman was then immediately evacuated by an Army chopper and rushed to a military hospital where a C section was performed on her.
The woman later delivered a baby girl weighing 2.5 kgs and both mother and child are said to be safe and healthy.
It may be recalled that at least four militants and Five army men and one civilian have been killed in the attack and operation is still on.
