Intelligence Agencies Warn of Suicide Drone Attack by Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu: Intelligence agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have warned of possible drone attack by terrorists on the security forces. The alert has been issued after a communication interception by the central agencies regarding use of drones against forces operating in the region.

Officials informed Republic that terror groups, especially those who are active in Rajouri and Poonch, have been asked to coordinate armed drone attacks on the security forces to inflict maximum casualties and send a message of their presence in the region. The alert has further warned that loitering munition (kamikaze drones) can be used to target the convoy or any other gathering of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alert by the intelligence agency has further warned that the scale of attack would be more sophisticated than what the terrorists have used in Jammu Air Force station attack in 2021 when Indian Air Force station was attacked by a Pakistani drown which dropped IED very close to the hanger of the Air Force station and a powerful explosions took place in which structure was damaged.

This alert comes at a time when security forces have intensified their operations against terrorists in Pir Panjal region of Jammu to wipe out terrorists that are still active in the area and have carried out multiple terror attacks in the region in the last three years.

Post October 2021, the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu have witnessed a series of terror attacks targeted at the Indian Army, resulting in the loss of 33 soldiers. It all began on October 11, 2021, with an assault on the Rashtriya Rifles Unit in Poonch's Dera Ki Gali area, claiming the lives of five Army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). Subsequent attacks occurred on October 15, 2021, April 20, 2023, and August 11, 2022, in Poonch and Rajouri, resulting in more casualties among the Rashtriya Rifles Unit. The assaults persisted with a terror strike on May 5, 2023, targeting the Special Forces Unit PARA in Rajouri's Kandi and on November 22, 2023, in Bajimaal, Rajouri, affecting both the Rashtriya Rifles and Special Forces Units. Unfortunately, the toll rose again on December 21, 2023, in Dera Ki Gali, Poonch, when four more Army personnel attained martyrdom.