Security personnel take position near the Army flats where the terrorists were hiding inside Sunjuwan military station. PTI

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 10

Four to five heavily armed Jaish terrorists stormed the Sunjuwan Military Station (36 Brigade) on the Jammu-Lakhanpur highway in the wee hours of Saturday, leaving two officers dead and nine, including a Colonel, five women and two children, injured.   Those killed were a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO).  The Army said two terrorists in combat gear were eliminated in a fierce gunbattle, but Intelligence sources  said three militants had been neutralised. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
The Army has rushed diesel generator sets and floodlights to capture the terrorists holed up inside the residential quarters. The operation to eliminate the terrorists is being “carried out with extreme caution” to minimise collateral damage in view of the women and children inside the family quarters. “Two heavily armed terrorists have been killed. They were carrying AK-56 rifles, ammunition and grenades. A search of their belongings confirmed they were from Jaish-e-Mohammad. Operations are in progress with caution and restraint to safeguard the unarmed soldiers, women and children inside the houses,” defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said.He said most of the over 150 houses in the complex had been cleared and occupants moved to safety. “So far,  a JCO and an NCO, both belonging to Jammu and Kashmir, have been martyred and nine,  including five women and children, injured, two of them critically. Operations will continue till the terrorists are apprehended or killed.” The spokesperson said the ultras entered the complex after a brief exchange of fire with the sentry.  “The Quick Response Teams (QRTs) cordoned off the area and isolated the terrorists, who were holed up in a few houses. During the operation to evacuate the families, a JCO was martyred.” Para Commandos were airlifted from Udhampur for the operation. Schools within a radius of 500 metres have been closed.The spokesman said the Army first focused on rescuing the trapped families even as the CRPF and the police laid a cordon outside to ensure no terrorist  escaped. Rattled by the attack, there was commotion in the J&K Assembly with Speaker Kavinder Gupta blaming refugees belonging to a particular community, residing a few metres from the military station, for the attack. National Conference MLA Mohammad Akbar Lone, a former Speaker, raised “pro-Pakistan” slogans to counter the BJP legislators’ “Pakistan murdabad” slogans. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri informed the House that two Armymen had been killed. He identified them as Subedar Madan Lal Chowdhary and Subedar Mohammad Ashraf Mir. He said as per the initial call received at the Police Control Room at 4.55 am, four to five militants were involved in the attack.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to DGP SP Vaid, while CM Mehbooba Mufti chaired a security meeting in the evening. Intelligence agencies had warned of an attack on a security establishment in view of the death anniversary of Afzal Guru, who was hanged on February 9, 2013, after he was convicted of masterminding the Parliament attack in 2001. 

Sunjuwan saw similar attack in 2003Jammu: The attack on the Sunjuwan military station on Saturday was the second one in 15 years. On June 28, 2003, 12 soldiers were killed and seven injured in a similar attack. The Sunjuwan station is located on the Jammu-Pathankot highway and is densely populated with civilians. Army Chief Bipin Rawat had visited the camp on October 21 last year to present the President’s Standard to 47th Armoured Regiment. He had then asked the forces to be ready for security challenges. On Saturday, heavily armed JeM terrorists sneaked inside the station from the middle gate near the Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust building in the wee hours. TNS