Srinagar, Aug 03: The centre on Saturday ordered deployment of two battalions (around two-thousand personnel) of Assam Rifles to Jammu region which has seen an increase in terror attacks in recent months.
Around 50 highly trained Pakistan based fighters are believed to be infiltrated in the upper reaches of Jammu, including Doda, Rajouri, Udhampur, and other adjacent areas. The move to deploy additional troops is seen as a part of majour counter-terror operations in the otherwise calm Jammu region.
These highly-trained fighters are said to be responsible for the nine deaths of security forces in the first three weeks of the month of June this year.
On July 8, four soldiers were killed while six others were injured when terrorists attacked an army convoy in the Kathua area of Jammu.
The casualty count for this year is rapidly approaching closer to the number of deaths recorded in 2023, which saw 20 deaths of soldiers. Army sources suspect the involvement of Pakistan’s elite Special Service Group (SSG) in the terror attack. In addition to Poonch and Rajouri, there have been attacks in Kathua, Udhampur, and Doda. The most recent incident occurred on July 15 in the Dessa Hills of Doda, where four soldiers, including a captain, were killed.
Since the start of this year, 14 terror attacks have taken place across six districts of the otherwise peaceful Jammu region, which have resulted in the deaths of 27 people, including 11 security personnel, a village defence guard, and five terrorists.
