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Four terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces at Sidhra near Jammu on Wednesday morning, a police officer said, adding that a large cache of weapons was found, indicating that a major terror attack was averted.
Officials said the gunbattle was triggered around 7.30am when a truck, headed to Kashmir on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, was hailed for a security check at a time when forces are on heightened vigil ahead of the Republic Day celebrations next month.
“Four terrorists were killed in an encounter in Sidhra area in Jammu. Seven AK-47 rifles, one M4 rifle, three pistols along with other ammunition were recovered from their possession. Truck owner is yet to be identified. It was going from Jammu to Srinagar,” said additional director general of police Mukesh Singh.
The driver, Singh added, got off the vehicle at the checkpoint and fled when a Jammu and Kashmir police Quick Reaction Team stopped it at a picket. “The, driver on the pretext of attending nature’s call, fled. Searches have been launched to nab the driver.”
Singh said the truck owner is yet to be identified. He added when the police team started checking the truck, it was fired upon by the terrorists hiding inside. “Additional reinforcements were rushed to the area as the gunfight began.”
Singh said the truck was loaded with fodder and a cavity was made inside for the terrorists to hide. He added it would be too premature to pinpoint the affiliation of the terrorists. “But they were heavily armed and used heavy ammunition on security forces. We were on a high alert in view of the Republic Day.”
A resident said five to six grenade blasts preceded the exchange of fire along the Panjtirthi-Sidhra road. He added that the scene is close to a bridge where a grenade blast took place recently.
The road connects Panjtirthi and Sidhra with the old city, where the lieutenant governor’s residence is located. The other end of the road leads to Nagrota, the headquarters of the Army’s 16 Corps.
J&K Police chief Dilbag Singh said they have been involved in area domination along highways and border areas in view of Republic Day. He earlier said terrorists try to sneak into the Jammu region during winter often taking advantage of reduced visibility due to foggy conditions.
The firefight was triggered hours before Union home minister Amit Shah held two meetings on Ladakh and J&K.
Shah chaired a review meeting of the security situation and development projects in J&K, where he asked officials present to take all measures needed to “dismantle the terror ecosystem”, the government said in a statement.
The meeting was attended by the lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, chiefs of Intelligence Bureau, central paramilitary forces deployed in the state, police and administration.
In April, a purported attempt to carry out a suicide attack near Jammu’s Sunjuwan military station was foiled with the killing of two terrorists. An assistant sub-inspector of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was also killed while 10 security personnel were injured in the pre-dawn gunfight two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the region.
Days later, Modi visited Palli village of Samba on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24. It was his first visit to the region since the nullification of the Constitution’s Article 370, which gave J&K semi-autonomous status.
The terrorists entered the outskirts of Jammu city in April from the international border in the RS Pura sector and were holed up in a locality close to the military camp. They were apparently moving towards the camp when they were spotted.
Around the same time, a CISF bus carrying 15 personnel at Jalalabad near the camp was proceeding towards the Jammu airport. The two terrorists lobbed a grenade towards the bus and sprayed it with bullets.
