Pulwama Encounter: Operation Over at CRPF Camp, Body of Third Terrorist Recovered

JAMMU:
The operation to flush out terrorists who attacked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) training centre in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday ended today after the security forces recovered the body of the third attacker.
Five jawans were killed after a group of heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists stormed the highly secured CRPF training facility in the wee hours of Sunday. The bodies of two terrorists were recovered yesterday.
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed the responsibility for the attack. A JeM spokesman called up local news agencies to claim the attack. He also ridiculed the “Operation All Out,” launched by the security forces earlier this year to eliminate terrorists.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday assured that the sacrifice of the jawans would not go in vain and their valour would be given due acknowledgement.
“The attack on a CRPF camp in Kashmir was a cowardly attack by terrorists. The sacrifice of our jawans won’t go in vain,” he said.
“The entire nation stands with their families. We are proud of our brave jawans who lost their lives in the fighting back the terrorists” Singh added.
The incident took place at 2 am on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. A group of terrorists cut the barbed wire fence of the 185th CRPF battalion, by the isolated hillside. They then lobbed grenades and fired indiscriminately. Three soldiers were injured after the terrorists stormed the facility and took refuge inside one of the three blocks to engage the troops.
Security forces immediately rushed in reinforcements to track down the holed-up terrorists and rescue the soldiers trapped inside the training facility.
Several people were rescued before the forces took on the terrorists inside the facility. Fierce gunfight between the two sides continued throughout the day on Sunday. Five CRPF soldiers, including an inspector-rank officer, were killed and three others were injured in the gunfight. Four of them died due to gunshot wounds and another one died of a cardiac arrest during evacuation.
“Heavily armed militants stormed the camp at about 2 am. They were armed with under- barrel grenade launchers and automatic weapons. They were challenged by camp sentries,” a CRPF official said.
Director General of Police S P Vaid said security forces had inputs about an impending militant strike in the Kashmir Valley for the past three days.
Terming the attack as “unfortunate”, Vaid said as long as Pakistan keeps sending militants, security forces and people of Kashmir will continue to go through this.
“There was an input from the last two-three days.They (militants) were trying. They probably could not get a place and time earlier. So, they struck last night,” Vaid told reporters on Sunday.
One of the martyred jawans was identified as Tufail Ahmad of Rajouri district. His son, Anees, today appealed the government to take measures to stop the menace of terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
The terrorist attack on CRPF facility comes almost three months after the security forces repulsed a Pathankot-type terror attack and killed three JeM terrorists, soon after they stormed a highly fortified Border Security Force (BSF) camp neighbouring the Srinagar International Airport and the Air Force Station on October 3.