Leadership Changes In Rajouri-Poonch Sector: New Chief Expected Amid Inquiry On SOP Compliance

After a string of attacks by terrorists on Army soldiers in Rajouri and Poonch, the Army is likely to send in a new sector commander to lead counterinsurgency operations in the area. There is also an investigation into the deaths of three civilians who were detained after the most recent attack and then killed.

According to insiders, the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) will soon have a new sector commander. They said that an investigation was being carried out to find out if standard operating procedures were broken in the recent attacks by terrorists on Army personnel. Thanks to decades of experience fighting insurgencies, the Army has very detailed plans for how to handle situations involving terrorists.

On Monday, Army Chief General Manoj Pande is likely to go to Jammu to check on the security situation. He will meet with senior officers to talk about ongoing counterinsurgency operations and the situation along the Line of Control.

Four Army soldiers were killed Thursday when their vehicles were attacked as they rushed to a battle site. It is thought that the terrorists recorded a video of the attack and cut up the bodies of two soldiers.

It was the same kind of attack on an Army truck near Poonch in April, when five soldiers were killed. The truck was going to a nearby village to deliver food, but it wasn’t part of an armed convoy when it was shot at.

The Army has also closed off and searched a huge area of forest near Dera Ki Gali, which is where the ambush happened on Thursday.

An investigation has been launched into the deaths of three civilians who were being questioned. A Major is thought to have been attached while the investigation takes place. He led the operation to capture the suspects.

The Army hasn’t said anything about the videos of the suspects being tortured and beaten that came out after they were caught. Family members say they know who the dead civilians in the videos are.

This year, there have been a number of operations in the Rajouri-Poonch region that have killed 55 people, including 20 members of the armed forces and 28 militants. Twenty to thirty terrorists are thought to be hiding in the upper reaches of the Poonch-Rajouri sector, ready to attack security forces. Defense forces think that Pakistan and China are working together to bring back terrorism in the area in order to put pressure on India to pull its troops out of Ladakh.