Two soldiers were killed in action in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla today, sources said.
Two porters were also killed in the attack, while three others were injured, sources said. The Indian Army’s Chinar Corps in a post on X confirmed an exchange of fire happened between soldiers and terrorists in the general area of Baramulla’s Butapathri.
Terrorists first attacked an army vehicle in Butapathri this evening. The attack comes hours after a labourer was shot at and injured in Jammu and Kashmir. The injured man was later identified as Pritam Singh, a resident of Uttar Pradesh.
The attack on the army vehicle today was the second in the Union Territory in the last 72 hours.
Three days earlier, six construction workers and a doctor were killed after terrorists – at least two of them – attacked a housing camp for construction workers building a tunnel. Those killed were identified as Dr Shahnawaz from Nayidgam Kashmir’s Budgam and Gurmeet Singh from Punjab’s Gurdaspur, while Mohammad Haneef, Faheem Nasir, and Kaleem were from Bihar.
The sixth and seventh were Madhya Pradesh’s Anil Shukla and Shashi Abrol from Jammu. The attackers left behind an INSAS rifle.
Omar Abdullah – the newly-elected Chief Minister – called it a “dastardly and cowardly attack on non-local labourers”. Mr Abdullah said, “They were working on a key infrastructure project. I strongly condemn this attack on unarmed innocent people and send my condolences to their loved ones.”
The housing camp attack was the worst on civilians in recent months, and took place just days after Mr Abdullah, whose party won the October 8 election, the first in a decade, took his oath of office.
A day after that attack, a newly-formed terror group – called Tehreek Labaik Ya Muslim – was dismantled following raids across several districts of the Union Territory.