Soldier, injured in firing incident in Jammu camp, succumbs in hospital, army rules out terror attack (Lead)

Jammu, Sept 2 (IANS) The soldier, injured in a firing incident in the army’s Sunjuwan base in Jammu city, succumbed in the hospital, army officials said, but ruled out a terrorist attack as the cause.

“Initial investigations by the Indian Army suggest that the incident in which a soldier lost his life in the morning is not a terrorist attack. The cause of the death of the soldier is being investigated,” the army said.

Officials on Monday said that a soldier was injured today when three gunshots were fired from outside at the Sunjuwan army camp.

The soldier injured in this incident was shifted to the army hospital in Nagrota.

“The sentry at the guard post fired some gunshots in the air since the area around the Sunjuwan army camp is densely populated,” an official said, terming it a stand-off firing incident.

Reports also said that drones have been pressed into service to locate the source of the gunshots fired at the army camp.

On February 10, 2018, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists attacked the Sunjuwan army camp. Six soldiers, three attackers and one civilian were killed and 20 others – 14 soldiers, and five women and children – were injured.

The 2018 attack coincided with the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru. The Army then said that JeM commander Mufti Waqas was the mastermind of the attack. Waqas was killed in an army operation on March 5, 2018, in the Awantipora area of Pulwama district. The investigation of the 2018 Sunjuwan terror attack was handed over to the NIA and the agency re-registered the case on April 26, 2022. The NIA produced a charge sheet against 12 persons in the court.

Reports had also said in 2018 that retired Pakistan Army brigadier and key Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operative, Amir Hamza was believed by Indian counter-terror agencies to be among the brains behind the 2018 attack on the Sunjuwan army camp. Hamza was killed by unknown assassins in Pakistan in June this year.

–IANS

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