5 soldiers killed in Poonch strike by 20 men from Pak
In a daring and apparently well-planned cross-border raid by a team of heavily-armed Pakistan-based terrorists and suspected Pakistan Army “border action team” commandos, five jawans of the Indian Army on patrol were ambushed and shot dead in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Tuesday.
A sixth Indian soldier was injured, as speculation was rife that the Pakistani intruders had in fact sought to target an Indian Army border post.
The incident rocked Parliament, after which defence minister A.K. Antony made a statement in both Houses. Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh will also visit Poonch on Wednesday to take stock.
The number of attackers is believed to have been around 20. The attackers struck after 1 am about 450 metres across the Line of Control in Indian territory, sources said. Mr Antony said some of the attackers were “dressed in Pakistan Army uniforms”.
The Army, which earlier directly named Pakistan Army personnel as being part of the attack, later “amended” its statement in line with that of the defence minister, thereby triggering another controversy. An angry South Block, meanwhile, summoned Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner Mansoor Ahmed Khan and lodged a strong protest on the killing of Indian soldiers, but Pakistan denied any involvement and rejected the allegations as “baseless and unfounded”.
Amid claims and counterclaims by the two nations, it appears the ongoing efforts to resume peace talks may get derailed. Angry over the killings, the BJP youth wing also held protests outside Mr Antony’s residence in New Delhi Tuesday evening.
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