Lagatar24 Desk
Jammu: A recent report indicates that a “fresh batch of terrorists” infiltrating the region over the last six months is responsible for the recent surge in terror attacks in Jammu. The Indian Express, citing informed sources, revealed that this group is primarily composed of recruits from Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions and is linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit.
On Monday night, four Army personnel were killed in a fierce gunfight with heavily armed terrorists in Doda district. This marks the third major terror incident in Jammu within three weeks and the seventh since the new NDA government was sworn in.
Earlier, on July 8, five Army personnel were killed and as many injured in a terrorist ambush in Kathua district. The day before, an Army personnel was injured in a terrorist attack on a security post in Rajouri district. Additionally, nine pilgrims were killed and 42 injured in a terrorist attack on a bus in Reasi district on June 9, coinciding with the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers took their oaths for a new term.
The ‘People’s Anti-Fascist Front’ initially claimed responsibility for the Poonch-Rajouri attacks, while the ‘Kashmir Tigers’ took credit for subsequent attacks in Doda-Kathua. Both groups are believed to be fronts for JeM, according to the report.
The terrorists involved are described as highly trained and motivated, possibly including former Pakistan Army soldiers and individuals with battle experience in Afghanistan. The precision of these attacks, along with the use of advanced technology like body cameras, suggests the presence of seasoned fighters, potentially from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, who have fought alongside the Taliban.
“Both groups have made sophisticated videos of the attacks using body cameras, and a backend team puts text in impeccable literary English for propaganda. They sometimes even quote noted authors and poets such as Robert Frost,” an Armed Forces officer told The Indian Express.
The presence of these highly trained terrorists with advanced combat experience underscores the increasing complexity and danger of the security situation in Jammu, necessitating heightened vigilance and strategic countermeasures from Indian security forces.