3 terror attacks in 3 days: What is going on in Jammu and Kashmir?

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is seeing an escalation of violence. In the last 80 hours, three separate attacks have taken place, raising concerns about the law and order situation in the region.

In the latest
incident
, terrorists launched an attack at the Army’s Temporary Operating Base in Jammu’s Doda region, injuring five Army soldiers and one special police official. Security forces, said later, that they had managed to neutralise one terrorist.

We take a closer look at what’s unfolding the Union territory and if it could have an impact on the polls, likely to take place later this year.

Attack in Jammu’s Doda

On Tuesday night, a gunfight erupted when terrorists attacked a joint checkpoint of police and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, injuring five Army soldiers and one police officer.

The attack unfolded at a joint checkpoint of the police and Rashtriya Rifles at an army base in Chattargala area, bordering the Sarthal area of the Kathua district. According to an Indian Express report, the terrorists also hurled a grenade at the checkpoint, causing injuries to the security personnel.

Following the attack, security forces and police reinforcements were sent to Chattergala, to hunt for the terrorists. The police halted all vehicle movement towards Chattergala from Bhaderwah.

Later, Kashmir Tigers, a Jaish-e-Mohammed-linked terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack. A little-known group, the name of the Kashmir Tigers group first surfaced in January 2021 when the police called it a shadow group of the Jaish-e-Mohammed. And in December 2021, the group was believed to be responsible for the attack on a police bus in Srinagar, killing three policemen and injuring 14 others.

Terrorist attack in Saida Sukhal

At a time when Doda, a peaceful Jammu province, was shook by the terror attack, another one was also unfolding in the far away Saida village in the plains of the Kathua district. A Central Reserve Police Force has been killed in the ensuing encounter there.

According to a police official, two terrorists opened fire in the area when villagers raised an alarm about them. Anand Jain, additional director general of police, Jammu zone, who is supervising the anti-terrorist ops in Kathua, told the media that the terrorists had gone door-to-door asking for water, but the villagers shut the doors in their faces, leading to the attack.

On being alerted about their presence, the Station House Officer of Hiranagar and the Sub-Divisional Police Officer engaged the terrorists, resulting in the death of one terrorist who tried to lob a grenade at the police party. The hunt for the second terrorist still continues.

In addition to the CRPF official, later identified as Kabir Dass, being killed, Omkar Nath, a civilian was injured, with officials saying that he had been evacuated to hospital.

Reasi bus attack

Prior to these attacks, on Sunday (9 June), at a time when
Narendra Modi and his new Cabinet
was being sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a 53-seat bus carrying pilgrims in the Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district fell into a gorge after terrorists opened fire on it.

The bus carrying pilgrims mainly from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi plunged into a deep gorge, killing nine people, including three women, and injuring another 33. A survivor of the attack recounted the ordeal, saying: “After visiting Mata Vaishno Devi, I went to Shiv Khori. On our way back, about 4-5 kilometres from Shiv Khori, our bus was fired upon. Even after our bus fell into the gorge, the firing continued. The driver was shot, and many passengers were injured in the attack.”

Echoing similar sentiments, another survivor affirmed the relentless assault, narrating how the attackers showed no mercy even after the vehicle was incapacitated. “I went for darshan of Shiv Khori. While returning, some people opened fire on our bus. Later, the bus fell into a ditch. Several people were injured in the incident. The firing did not stop even after the bus fell. I think there were two-three terrorists there. My son saw a man firing on our bus from behind,” he added.

PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah quickly took stock of the issue, with the former calling J-K LG Manoj Sinha and offering all kinds of assistance.

Authorities investigating the
attack
have now released a sketch of one of the three terrorists involved in the attack. The police have also announced a Rs 20 lakh reward for information about him.

“Reasi police announce a reward of Rs 20 lakh for any fruitful information about the whereabouts of the terrorist involved in the recent attack on the yatri bus in the area of Pouni, a police spokesman told news agency PTI.

Following the bus tragedy, the Congress said it exposed the reality of the BJP’s claim of peace and normalcy returning to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Congress’ Pawan Khera said: “Just by claiming that we have brought back peace and patting your backs don’t ensure peace and security. Just by making speeches, you don’t bring peace. The country demands answers.”

‘Conspiracy to disturb normalcy’

The series of attacks in the Union Territory comes after DGP RR Swain said the number of local ultras had was dropping but 70-80 foreign terrorists remained active.

According to Major General AK Siwach (retired), the attacks were clearly an attempt by the terrorists to disturb normalcy in the region. Speaking to Zee News, he said: This is Pakistan’s conspiracy to incite more and more terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir before the assembly elections and show the world that the area is not peaceful.”