Four freshly infiltrated and heavily armed unidentified militants, travelling in a truck to Kashmir, were killed in a ‘chance encounter’ with security forces on National Highway-44 near Sidhra bridge in Jammu Wednesday.
Police said seven AK-47 rifles, one M4 rifle, and three pistols along with other ammunition were recovered from the slain militants who were intercepted when they were apparently heading for Kashmir in a truck at around 7:30 am on Wednesday.
"A quick response team on the national highway noticed an unusual movement of a truck and started following it. As the vehicle reached the naka at Sidhra bridge around 7 am, the police signalled it to stop and asked the driver to step out. The driver responded but escaped, taking advantage of the dense fog," Additional Director General Police (ADGP), Mukesh Singh told reporters.
Also Read | India revamps defence infra with army tank ramps, fortification of BSF bunkers at IB in J&K
He said as police and security forces started searching the truck, hiding militants opened fire, which led to the retaliatory firing. Security forces immediately cordoned off the vehicle and stopped the movement of vehicular traffic on that stretch of the highway. During the exchange of fire, the militants were killed and the vehicle caught fire, the police added.
Officials said the intense firing between the two sides lasted for over 45 minutes, during which several explosions, apparently caused by the hurling of grenades, were also heard. Smoke was seen blowing from the truck, loaded with husk, and was completely damaged in the gunfight.
The identity and the group affiliation of the slain militants were not known immediately. However, sources said, the slain may have been part of a freshly infiltrated group, who were on a mission to carry out a fidayeen (suicide) attack in and around Jammu city.
This is not the first such encounter on National Highway-44 in Jammu. On November 19, 2020, four freshly infiltrated militants, affiliated with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit, were killed in a similar encounter with security forces near Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu city on the Highway.
On January 31, 2020, three Pakistani militants affiliated with the Jaish, travelling in a truck towards Srinagar were killed in a similar encounter at Nagrota. In November 2016, seven soldiers, including two officers, were killed when terrorists dressed as policemen stormed a military camp in Nagrota.
The national highway has often been used by militants in attempts to carry out sneak-and-strike attacks. Their modus operandi is to breach the border at various points to enter Jammu, and after hitching a vehicle by force they carry out suicide attacks on the army or police installations.