Sunjwan terror attack: Mehbooba Mufti, Rajnath condemn incident, say soldiers would never let India down

JAMMU: Following the terror attack that took place at an Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Sunjwan area on Saturday morning, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Army and other security forces were effectively doing their job and would never let any Indian hang his head in shame. He said it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the attack on an Army camp in Jammu as the operation was still on.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti took to Twitter and expressed condolence over the attack. "Deeply disturbed by the terrorist attack in Sunjwan today. My heart goes out to the injured and their families," read her tweet.

Accusing Pakistan over the Army camp attack, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said, "No day passes by without such incidents and terrorists are all coming from Pakistan. If Pakistan wants good relations with India they need to stop terrorism or it will have bad consequences. Sadly, I have to say that if it continues, India won't stop itself from waging war."

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta hinted at the role of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the terror attack. "I watched a live video, one can see Army area from rooftops there (where Rohingyas and Bangladeshis live), there is drug mafia running in those areas. For money, some people have given them space to stay. The government must take note of this," he said.

While the security forces are trying to nab the terrorists holed up at the Army camp, the J&K Assembly speaker visited the main gate of Army station. Claiming that the increasing number of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are a security threat, he said that the government has also accepted the issue. "I live in that constituency, complaints have come from there and in a way government also accepts that number of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis is increasing and that they are a security threat," the J&K Assembly Speaker added.

Adding to Gupta's statement, BJP MLC Vikram Randhawa said, "I have been raising the issue of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living in surrounding areas of Jammu, illegally. They are increasing. If not stopped, they will act as a shelter for terrorist organisations. Investigations must be done."

Earlier in the day, a group of three-to-five heavily armed terrorists stormed the Sunjwan Army camp. Security forces are conducting operations to pin down the attackers.

In the attack on the army camp, two soldiers have been killed and four others have been injured. A colonel and the daughter of a jawan is among those who have been injured.

Para Commandos of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were airlifted to Jammu from Udhampur for the operation and another aircraft is also airborne to airlift para commandos from Sarsawa.

The terrorists entered the Sunjuwan Military Station at around 4.45 am on Saturday hurling grenades and using heavy volume of automatic gunfire to attack the Army camp. There were intelligence inputs that Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists were planning to carry out an attack around the 5th death anniversary of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru, who was hanged on February 9, 2013 in Tihar Jail.

Search and combing operations are underway near the Army camp. Security forces have cordoned off the area and educational institutions within half a kilometre radius of the camp have been shut down for the day.