Later on Thursday evening, an iftar gathering in Sagiote was intended to be supplied with fruits and other goods carried by an Indian Army truck.
Despite the country’s celebration of ‘Eid-ul-Fitr’ on Saturday, a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch has opted not to partake. This decision was made due to the recent ambush of an Indian Army truck on Thursday, which resulted in the death of five soldiers attached with the Rashtriya Rifles. The truck was on its way to Sagiote village, carrying fruits and other items intended for an iftar gathering scheduled for later that evening.
The report added that the truck transported materials from the Basooni headquarters of the Rashtriya Rifles located in Balakote. Also, the vehicle collected additional items during its journey from the Bhimber Gali area, where the Rashtriya Rifles has a significant presence due to the movement of Army convoys between Poonch and Rajouri.
Sarpanch of the Sangiote panchayat Mukhtiaz Khan, who was was among those invited for the iftar, told the newspaper: “Kya iftar jab hamare paanch jawan uss unfortunate haadse mein shaheed ho gaye (what iftar fast when five of our soldiers were martyred in that unfortunate incident).”
“As soon as we got information about the terror attack from social media groups, a pall of gloom descended on the village,” Khan said, adding that the villagers will not celebrate Eid on Saturday, they only offer namaz.
At approximately 3pm, as the loaded vehicle approached its destination, only 7-8 km away and crossed Tota Gali, unidentified terrorists who had set an ambush in advance, launched an attack on the vehicle from various directions, as stated in the report.
At least 12 people were detained on Friday for questioning in connection with the deadly ambush of five army soldiers in the dense forest area of Bata Doriya even as a MI helicopter, drones and sniffer dogs were pressed into service in a massive manhunt for the perpetrators.
Officials said those detained were being questioned at various levels by the security forces to ascertain the identity of the terror group, which is believed to be active in the area for more than a year and probably comprises a snipper too.
A day after the attack, director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh along with additional director general police Mukesh Singh was camping in the neighbouring Rajouri district to oversee the investigation.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team headed by a deputy inspector general rank officer was also present as the agency is likely to take over the case.
