Soldiers give stiff fight forcing terrorists flee into the forests; officials recount Kathua ambush
With right arm badly injured, rifleman Kartik Singh, continued the fusillade with his left arm until his weapon jammed.
NEW DELHI, JULY 10: To protect their injured colleagues, soldiers of 22 Garhwal Regiment though surprised over attack on their convoy in Kathua district’s far off Badnota village of Jammu and Kashmir, quickly gathered themselves and fired 5,189 rounds in more than two hours continuous gun fight forcing heavily armed terrorists run into the forests.
Facing heavy barrage of bullets from terrorists, the soldiers put up a stiff fight firing incessantly to stop terrorists from inflicting further harm and seizing their weapons.
This is what the officials have gathered while piecing together the events of what happened when the ambush took place on Monday and in more than two hours of continuous gunfight that followed until reinforcements came in.
Five soldiers were killed and five others injured when terrorists opened fire on two Army vehicles on the Machedi-Lohai Malhar road.
Officials are looking at the evidence on the site, the bloodstained helmets, the bullet shells and the vehicles with smashed windscreens and flat tyres, and talking to the injured soldiers to understand how that fateful July 8 afternoon panned out.
Led by Junior Commissioned Officer Naib Subedar Anand Singh, soldiers of the 22 Garhwal regiment fought back shouting the war cry “Badri Vishal Ki Jai” (Victory to the sons of Lord Badrinath).
“Despite sustaining initial setbacks and injuries, the brave soldiers of the Garhwal regiment embodied their motto ‘Yudhaya Krit Nishchaya’ (Fight with determination), standing their ground for more than two hours,” an official said.
“Despite facing gruelling physical and mental challenges, the Garhwal regiment soldiers of the Indian Army unleashed a barrage of 5,189 rounds on the terrorists, forcing them to flee the scene,” an official said.
The injured jawans are undergoing treatment at the army hospital in Pathankot.
Among them is rifleman Kartik Singh. His right arm was punctured in several places by shrapnel from a grenade launched by terrorists but he was undeterred and continued the fusillade with his left arm until his weapon jammed.
His was only one of the stories of courage.
“The soldiers showed unwavering bravery and selfless dedication to duty, even in the face of grave injuries,” said an official.
“The precise and relentless counterfire instilled panic among the terrorists who were forced to retreat, and allowed for reinforcements to secure the area,” he added.
Those killed were Naib Subedar Anand Singh, Havildar Kamal Singh, Naik Vinod Singh, Rifleman Anuj Negi and Rifleman Adarsh Negi, all from Uttarakhand.
