By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2023-01-02 06:28:07
New Year's
Day saw renewed terrorist activity in Jammu & Kashmir. Terrorists struck at
two places - a miscued attack on a CRPF bunker in Hawal Chowk in Srinagar
district and a deadly attack in Upper Dhangri village in Rajouri sector of
Jammu division.
In the
first attack, the grenade thrown at the CRPF bunker missed the target and
exploded on the road injuring a civilian. This attack did not seem planned or
executed by trained operatives with the required degree of expertise.
But the
other attack in Upper Dhangri village was well-planned as the terrorists
targeted a cluster of Hindu homes a little away from the main village. They
fired indiscriminately, killing 4 and injuring 9 others. The terrorists had
come well prepared and knew their target well. No organization has yet claimed
responsibility for the attack. A search operation has been launched to nab the
terrorists.
After a
brief lull in terrorist activity in J&K, which has led the administration
to believe that such activities were declining, these fresh attacks once again
show that although they are on the back foot due to the sustained anti-terror
operations and the presence of a huge number of security forces, terrorists
will continue to strike and many of these attacks will be deadly. Even as this
is being written another blast in the same Upper Dhangri village in Rajaouri
has been reported and one person has been killed and two others have been
injured.
The security
forces have to remain vigilant and keep their informers on their toes. The
Upper Dhangri attack could have been prevented with proper intel as it seemed
planned and involved at least more than 4/5 persons. The Army's decision to
restructure Rashtriya Rifles is good as it should be turned into a world-class counter-insurgency
force having the latest tools and the best weapons.