Search on after terrorist attack kills IAF Corporal in J&K

JAMMU: Combined teams of Army, paramilitary, and J&K police fanned out in a massive combing operation Sunday in the mountainous forested terrain of J&K’s Poonch district, following the terrorist attack the previous afternoon on two IAF vehicles that left Corporal Vikky Pahade dead and wounded four of his colleagues.

IAF mourned the loss of Corporal Pahade, a 33-year-old resident of Nonia-Karbal village in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, who was supposed to return home to celebrate his son’s birthday on May 7. He had joined his unit on April 18 after visiting his family for his sister’s wedding.

A group of terrorists led by Abu Hamza, a foreigner affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), is suspected to be behind the attack. Hamza is also accused of masterminding the killing of govt employee Mohammad Razaq on April 22 in Rajouri district.

Police have announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for information about him. He is suspected to be operating in the dense jungles of Poonch and Rajouri districts.

According to a police spokesperson, senior Army and police officers visited the attack site to monitor the search. “Reinforcement were despatched to Jarra Wali Gali area,” an official said. Para Commandos have been deployed in the ongoing operation, forces have set up barricades, and aerial surveillance is also being conducted with helicopters to locate and stop terrorists from escaping. Several people were detained for questioning.

Corporal Pahade died of his wounds in hospital following the ambush on the trucks en route to Sanai Top in Surankote area, while returning from technical work on radars deployed in Poonch sector. “The four wounded Air Warriors were airlifted to Northern Command Hospital in Udhampur, with one reported to be critical and the other three in stable condition, according to doctors,” an official said.

Sources said the terrorists used AK-series rifles, US-made M4 carbines, and steel bullets to inflict maximum damage.

The ambush was the first this year in the frontier district of Poonch, where more than a dozen military personnel had died since 2021. The pattern resembled previous attacks on military convoys, including those on Dec 21 and Nov 22 last year, resulting in the deaths of seven soldiers, including two officers.