A group of terrorists, believed to be 4-5 in number, attacked the Pathankot Air Force base in Punjab early Saturday morning. Police confirmed that two terrorists have been killed by the armed forces. The encounter is reported to have started around 3:30 am.
According to initial reports, the incident is being linked to the missing car of a Punjab SP on Friday morning. Last year, there had been a major attack in Gurdaspur which resulted in the death of three civilians and four policemen.
On Friday, a statewide alert was issued by the Punjab Police, and the Army’s units in Pathankot as well as the police in Jammu are also monitoring the situation.
SP Salwinder Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma, a jeweller, and Verma’s cook Madan Gopal were in the police officer’s SUV when they were allegedly waylaid by a group of five armed men in Army fatigues on the Pathankot-Jammu highway. In statements to the police, Singh and Verma said the men were carrying “heavy weapons”.
About three km from the spot where Salwinder alleged he and his accomplices were waylaid, the police also recovered the body of a man identified as a taxi driver, Ikagar Singh. A Toyota Innova belonging to Ikagar Singh was also found abandoned at a distance with one of its tyres punctured. The sarpanch of Ikagar’s village, however, said his car was found at the exact spot where the three men were allegedly waylaid.
Live Updates:
7:30 am: We are getting reports that NSG and Garud Commando Force are engaged with terrorists.
7:15 am: Early in July, the Army had sounded alerts about possible attacks in border areas following the attack in Gurdaspur.
Source: indianexpress.com
