Security forces achieved a breakthrough on Tuesday by eliminating two militants linked to an attack on an army convoy in Jammu’s Akhnoor the previous day.

Major General Sameer Shrivastava of the army’s 10 Infantry Division commended the forces for executing a “very successful” operation in a remarkably short time frame, with no casualties among the troops.

He acknowledged that BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles were deployed because of the challenging terrain, which has steep gradients, to ensure the soldiers’ safety. Tanks have rarely been used in anti-militancy operations.

“Three terrorists were killed. We suffered no loss. The operation was a good example of coordination and concluded in record time,” the officer said at a media conference. The officer added that they, however, lost army dog Phantom during the operation.

While one militant was killed on Monday, the other two were eliminatedon Tuesday.

The initial attack on the convoy prompted a swift reaction from the troops, aided by timely information from local schoolchildren who spotted the militants in a nearby temple. Although there were reports of damage to a temple, Shrivastava said there was no intentional destruction.

“When they were detected, we got immediate information from the village. That is why we could react very fast,”he said.

He added that the militants had not infiltrated recently and were hiding in the region, having planned a significant operation that failed when they opened fire on the convoy. Thanks to the quick response teams, the situation was contained without casualties.

“They could not deliver on the purpose they had come for. They opened fire on our convoy (as it was heading to the area to look for the militants). But because of our drivers and quick-reaction teams, there was no loss. The quick-reaction teams pinned them down immediately,”Shrivastava said.

“There are a lot of reports that the army used BMPs. I want to assure you that it was such an area where there was a 30-degree gradient and a lot of foliage. When we located the militants, going there was not possible without facing danger. We used these hard-end vehicles to reach there.”