2024 Botapathri ambush

Last updated
Botapathri ambush
Part of Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
LocationBotapathri, Gulmarg, Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir
Date26 October 2024 (IST)
TargetArmy vehicle convoy
Attack type
Ambush
WeaponsSophisticated firearms
Deaths5 [1]
InjuredUnknown
No. of participants
3–4 militants

On October 26, 2024, militants ambushed an Indian Army vehicle in the Botapathri area of Gulmarg, located in Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir. The attack, carried out by the People's Anti-Fascist Front, resulted in the deaths of three Indian Army soldiers and two local porters. [2]

Contents

The Attack

The ambush occurred in the dense forests of Botapathri, where militants attacked the convoy using sophisticated weapons. Initial reports from Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla, Muhammad Zaid, indicated that 3-4 militants were involved in the attack. [3]

Search Operations

Following the attack, a massive joint search operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and paramilitary forces. The operation spanned the area from Baba Reshi to the forests of Gulmarg, utilizing helicopters and drones for aerial surveillance. Security forces conducted ground searches in Pattan and Kreeri based on intelligence inputs. [4]

Reactions

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha strongly condemned the attack, vowing that security forces would take revenge for every drop of blood shed in Kashmir. He emphasized the need for collective efforts to eradicate terrorism from the region. [4]

Aftermath

In the aftermath of the attack, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD&PR) Javed Ahmad Dar, along with other local leaders, visited the families of the deceased to offer condolences and support. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baramulla district</span> District in Jammu and kashmir, India

Baramulla district or Varmul is one of the 20 districts in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in the disputed Kashmir region. Baramulla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covered an area of 4,588 km2 (1,771 sq mi) in 2001, but it was reduced to 4,243 km2 (1,638 sq mi) at the time of 2011 census. In 2016, the district administration said that the area was 4,190 km2 (1,620 sq mi). Muslims constitute about 98% of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulmarg</span> Hill Station in Jammu and Kashmir, India

Gulmarg, known as Gulmarag in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, tourist destination, skiing destination, and a notified area committee in north Kashmir’sBaramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 31 km (19 mi) from Baramulla and 49 km (30 mi) from Srinagar. The town is situated in the India’s well known Pir Panjal Range in the Western Himalayas and lies within the boundaries of Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Ongoing separatist militancy in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir

The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger geographical region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baramulla</span> District in Jammu & Kashmir, India

Baramulla, also known as Varmul in Kashmiri, is a city and municipality of the Baramulla district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Baramulla district, located on the banks of the River Jhelum downstream from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The town was known as gateway of Kashmir, serving as the major distribution centre for goods arriving in Kashmir valley from Punjab through Muzaffarabad and then distributed along the Jhelum Valley Road towards Banihal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shesh Paul Vaid</span> Indian Police Service officer

Shesh Paul Vaid, also known as S. P. Vaid, is an Indian police officer and former Director General of Police (DGP) of Jammu & Kashmir from 31 December 2016 till 6 September 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Kashmir unrest</span> Violent protests and riots in Kashmir, India

The 2010 Kashmir unrest was a series of violent protests and riots in the Kashmir Division and Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal regions of Northern Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir, India which started in June 2010 after the Indian Army claimed to have killed three Pakistani infiltrators in which a soldier of the Territorial Army, a counter-insurgent and a former special police officer had found three young men from their Nadihal village in Baramulla district and killed them in a "staged" encounter at Sona Pindi. The protests occurred in a movement launched by Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in June 2010, who called for the complete demilitarisation of Jammu and Kashmir. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference made this call to a strike, citing human rights abuses by security forces. Rioters shouting pro-independence slogans, defied curfew, attacked riot police with stones and burnt vehicles and buildings. The protests started out as anti India protests but later were also targeted against the United States following the 2010 Qur'an-burning controversy. The riot police consisting of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian Para-military forces fired teargas shells rubber bullets and also live ammunition on the protesters, resulting in 112 deaths, including many teenagers and an 11-year-old boy. The protests subsided after the Indian government announced a package of measures aimed at defusing the tensions in September 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes</span> Series of armed skirmishes between India and Pakistan in Kashmir

The 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes between India and Pakistan, mostly consisting of heavy exchanges of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani forces across the de facto border, known as the Line of Control (LoC), between the two states in the disputed region of Kashmir. The skirmishes began after India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes against militant launch pads within the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 29 September 2016.

On the midnight of the second and third of October 2016, militants attacked a camp of the Indian Army's 46 Rashtriya Rifles in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

There have been several attacks on Indian Armed Forces by militants in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Army operations in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Military operation

Indian Army operations in Jammu and Kashmir include security operations such as Operation Rakshak, which began in 1990, Operation Sarp Vinash in 2003 and Operation Randori Behak in 2020. Other operations include humanitarian missions such as Operation Megh Rahat and operations with a social aim such as Operation Goodwill and Operation Calm Down. The Indian Army works in tandem with the other arms of the Indian Armed Forces and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir such as during Mission Sahayata or joint operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Sunjuwan attack</span> Terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India

On 10 February 2018, at predawn, Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists attacked an Indian Army camp in Sunjuwan, Jammu, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Six soldiers, three attackers and one civilian were killed and 20 injured including 14 soldiers, and five women and children. Notably, this attack coincided with the death anniversary of Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Indian parliament attack. The attack has been described as one of the worst since the 2016 Uri attack. The man described by the Indian Army as the mastermind of the attack, Mufti Waqas, a commander in Jaish-e-Mohammed, was killed in an army operation on 5 March 2018 in south Kashmir's Awantipur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind</span> Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militant group in Kashmir

Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind is an al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist jihadist militant group active in Kashmir. The group's stated objective is to create Kashmir as an independent Islamic state under Sharia law and to fought jihad against Indian administration of Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Overview of the Indian military presence in Jammu and Kashmir

Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir encompass the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, tri-service units such as the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), and paramilitary organisations of the Central Armed Police Forces such as the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Each three wings of India's military have their special forces deployed in the region including Indian Army's Para SF, the Indian Navy MARCOS and the Indian Air Force's Garud Commando Force. Apart from this, there is the elite police anti-insurgency force in the region, the Special Operations Group, of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) is a militant terrorist organization actively engaged in insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, an ongoing armed conflict between Kashmiri separatist militants and Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir. PAFF was established in 2020 by Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba, two Pakistan-based Jihadist groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Resistance Front</span> Militant group in Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Resistance Front (TRF) is a militant organisation actively engaged in Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, and designated as a terrorist organisation in India. Indian government and other experts believe that the organisation was founded by and is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Jihadist terrorist group. The group is responsible for attacks on and killings of civilians, including those belonging to religious minority communities such as Kashmiri Hindus government employees, labourers and business owners, local politicians, and tourists, as well as for several attacks on Indian security forces including local policemen.

The 2024 Reasi attack was a militant attack that occurred on 9 June 2024 in the Reasi district of the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Several unidentified militants opened fire on a passenger bus transporting Hindu pilgrims from the Shiv Khori cave to Katra, causing it to lose control and plummet into a deep gorge, followed by further firing at the crashed bus by the gunmen. Nine people were killed in the attack, and an additional 41 were injured.

The 2024 Ganderbal Attack occurred on October 20, 2024, when militants targeted workers at a construction site in Ganderbal district, Jammu and Kashmir, The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The 2024 Baramulla attack was a militant assault carried out by members of the People's Anti-Fascist Front in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, on the night of 24 October 2024. The attackers targeted an Indian Army convoy in the Boota Pathri area near the Line of Control. During the initial attack, a civilian porter was killed, and four soldiers were injured.

The 2024 Akhnoor attack took place on 28 October 2024, when militants opened fire on an Indian Army vehicle in the Battal area of Akhnoor, located in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack resulted in the deaths of three Indian Army soldiers and the injury of two others. The attackers, believed to be three militants, were engaged by security forces, leading to a massive search operation in the region.

The 2024 Srinagar attack refers to a gunfight that broke out between militants and Indian security forces in the Khanyar area of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on 2 November 2024. The attack involved an intense firefight that lasted over 12 hours, resulting in two Indian soldiers killed and four others injured. Reports suggest that the militants, allegedly including at least one local, managed to kill two Indian security forces personnel before retreating into a residential area, where they were reportedly cornered by security forces.

References

  1. "Massive manhunt underway in Botapathri after deadly militant attack". KNS Kashmir. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  2. "Massive manhunt underway in Botapathri after deadly militant attack". KNS. 26 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Search operation continues in Gulmarg's Botapathri for second day; J&K LG says forces will take 'revenge'". WION. 26 October 2024.
  4. "Botapathri killings: Minister, MLAs offer condolences to families of slain army porters". Rising Kashmir. 26 October 2024.