Army pays tributes to soldiers killed in Poonch attack

Top Army and police officials on Friday paid homage to five soldiers killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Five soldiers were killed and one was injured on Thursday after their vehicle was attacked by unidentified terrorists and caught fire.

The soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.

At a ceremony held at a military camp in Rajouri, senior officers, including general officer commanding (GoC) and additional director general of police (ADGP), and civil dignitaries paid homage to the soldiers, officials said.

"The nation will always remain indebted to our bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty," an officer said.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, mortal remains of Lance Naik Debashish from Algum Sami village in Odisha were airlifted to his native place, the officials said.

The mortal remains of Havildar Mandeep Singh from Chankoian village in Ludhiana, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh from Charik village in Moga, Sepoy Harkrishan Singh from Talwandi village in Gurdaspur and Sepoy Sewak Singh from Bagha village Bathinda, all in Punjab, are being sent to their native places by road, they said.