10 killed in Punjab terror strike

Chandigarh:  Three heavily armed militants sporting army fatigues, who entered from Pakistan side of the border into Punjab’s Dinanagar, unleashed terror on the streets early on Monday before they were eliminated by the police in an operation that lasted nearly 11 hours. 

Four policemen, including SP (Detective) Baljit Singh, and three civilians also died in the attack, while 11 others were injured. Dinanagar, in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, is about 12 km from the Pakistan border.  

Armed with AK-47s, grenades and GPS equipment, the militants had planned a twin strike. Five bombs were found on the Dinanagar-Pathankot railway track, but were defused after villagers informed the authorities.  

The pattern of Monday’s attack is similar to those in the recent past in Jammu & Kashmir



where militants hijacked vehicles at dawn, inflicted casualty by shooting indiscriminately and finally storm a government building like a cantonment or a police station.

The militants first hijacked a Maruti 800 car after killing the driver. They then raced towards a bus terminal and started firing indiscriminately killing a civilian. 

A bus with over 50 passengers was their next target. They sprayed bullets at it, but the driver drove to safety. The terrorists then went straight to a police station, killing policemen, before taking positions. A heavy exchange of fire continued for almost the entire day in the operation led by Punjab’s SWAT commandos. 

Later, a bullet proof vehicle was sent inside. The operation ended with the recovery of bodies of all three militants.