Jaish terrorists hit army camp near Ratnuchak; forces open fire

New Delhi: Just 10 months after a deadly terror attack in Jammu’s Sunjwan Military camp, two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were fired upon by the sentry, in the early hours of Sunday at the adjoining Ratnuchak military camp.

While the JeM terrorists had been spotted nearly a week ago in the camp, this once again exposes the vulnerability of India’s Security establishments, with terror outfits gaining quick access to the camps through the adjoining civilian clusters.

A person familiar with the developments said that the sentry at the Ratnuchak camp had spotted two JeM terrorists at 1:40am (Sunday morning) with weapons and backpacks. The sentry then immediately opened fire, injuring one militant. The two have however, fled to the nearby civilian clusters.

A cordon and search operation (CASO) has now been launched by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, while the adjacent Sunjwan and Kaluchak camps too have sounded red alerts.

Like the Sunjwan Camp, which was attacked in February this year, the Ratnuchak camp too houses families of Indian Army officers, with the routes within the camp open to civilian movement.

Intelligence units added that such camps were vulnerable to terror attacks with their openness providing ample reconnaissance opportunities to terror outfits.

“The JeM has been targeting security establishments. It is not a coincidence, but a well thought out and planned exercise on their part. They have been identifying such camps and keeping a close watch for weeks at a stretch, with adequate help from local villagers,” said a senior intelligence official, seeking anonymity.