Rajnath Singh and Gen Manoj Pande at Jammu
Jammu: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday landed at Rajouri Army base camp in Jammu & Kashmir to take stock of the security situation in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.
His visit came a day after the terrorists killed five Indian Army soldiers while carrying out an intelligence-based anti-militant operation in the Kandi forest area of Jammu & Kashmir’s Rajouri sector. The operation has been named as “Operation Trinetra”.
The incident took place when a team of Army personnel along with members of other security forces were combing the area to flush out militants from the forest.
The joint operation was launched on May 3 after intelligence reports specifically said the terrorists, who were involved in the April 20 ambush in Rajouri on an Army column killing five soldiers, were hiding in the forest.
It must be noted that since October 2021 the terrorists have killed 35 people, including 26 soldiers, in eight attacks.
Soon after arriving at Jammu, Rajnath Singh, accompanied by the Indian Army chief, General Manoj Pande, left for Rajouri.
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh has reached Jammu. He will visit Rajouri Army Camp. pic.twitter.com/o1Bjsm5oeK
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) May 6, 2023
In the operation, a holed-up terrorist was killed and one more is believed to be injured on Saturday morning.
Northern Army commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Corps commander White Knight Corps, and Divisional Commissioner, Jammu are also accompanying Rajnath to Rajouri, officials said.
Earlier in the day, Lt Gen Dwivedi visited the encounter site and was briefed on the developments in the ongoing 'Operation Trinetra' by ground commanders.
OP TRINETRA #LtGenUpendraDwivedi #ArmyCdr Northern Command at Ground Zero, reviewing the operational situation on the ongoing operations at Kandi #Rajouri where contact was re-established with militants.
— NORTHERN COMMAND - INDIAN ARMY (@NorthernComd_IA) May 6, 2023
He was briefed on all aspects of the operations by ground commanders pic.twitter.com/zqHl2VTxP7
Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu, which were declared terrorism-free more than a decade ago, have been rocked by a series of deadly attacks by terrorists in the past 18 months.
The loss of five jawans in Kandi forest is the third major incident this year. It took place at a time when the forces had been engaged in a massive combing operation for the past 15 days following an ambush on an army truck in Bhata Dhurian (Poonch).
