New Delhi (India), April 22, 2023: The recent ambush of five Army soldiers in the Bata Doriya forest area has reignited memories of the deadly Pulwama attack in February 2019.
Though the number of casualties is comparatively lower than the Pulwama attack, it has confirmed the concerns of the security forces that Pakistan-backed terrorist groups have diverted their attention away from the Valley towards the Jammu division.
This is the second attack suffered by the Rajouri-Poonch area this year, following the January 1 ambush in Dangri village that resulted in the deaths of five people, followed by an IED explosion that killed two children.
The terrorists responsible for those seven deaths are still at large. Furthermore, in October 2021, nine Indian Army soldiers were killed in two separate attacks, and the operation to track down the terrorists responsible is still ongoing.
The recent Bata Doriya attack has led to questions about whether Poonch and Rajouri are regressing to the days of “Hilikaka.” Hilikaka, a Bakerwal village in Surankote, Poonch, was turned into a garrison by Pakistani terrorists in 2003.
Around 60 terrorists, armed with AK-47 and sniper rifles, PIKA guns, grenade launchers, explosives, radio sets, and other communications equipment, laid siege to the village, and the Indian Army’s “Sarp Vinash” operation liberated it and ensured peace in Rajouri-Poonch for the next two decades.
