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Coordinates: 32°07′42″N 75°28′11″E / 32.128255°N 75.469683°E / 32.128255; 75.469683
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The first response was led by Punjab Police [[Superintendent of police (India)|Superintendent of Police]] Baljeet Singh, which lead to the death of one of the gunmen.<ref name=daily/> SP Baljeet Singh later died in the gunbattle.<ref name=daily/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Martyred-SP-Baljit-Singhs-father-too-died-in-a-terror-attack/articleshow/48239874.cms |title=Martyred SP Baljit Singh’s father too died in a terror attack |work=The Times of India |accessdate=27 July 2015}}</ref> The [[Indian Army]] and the [[National Security Guards|NSG]] also responded to the attack, however, the [[Punjab Police (India)|Punjab Police]] maintained the lead on the counter-terrorism operation and assigned support roles to the Army and the NSG.<ref name=daily/> A 28 Man group from the [[Punjab Police (India)#Punjab SWAT|Punjab Police SWAT Team]] coordinated a counter-assault and the last militant was killed 11 hours after the terrorist attack began.<ref name="tribunenewsservice">{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html|title=Baptism by fire for Punjab’s elite SWAT|author=Tribune News Service|work=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="hindustantimes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/gurdaspur-attack-punjab-police-swat-team-bang-on-target/article1-1374194.aspx|title=Gurdaspur attack: Punjab Police SWAT team bang on target|work=http://www.hindustantimes.com/|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref> News Agencies have pointed out that the attack could have been ended by sercurity forces much earlier, as the gunmen were holed up in an abandoned building but the operation was prolonged due to an order to capture at least one gunman alive. This goal was abandoned once it was clear that none of the gunmen intended on being captured and the SWAT Team swiftly neutralized all threats.<ref name="tribunenewsservice"/><ref name="hindustantimes.com"/><ref name="dailyo.in">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyo.in/politics/gurdaspur-terror-attack-punjab-police-force-ss-saini-pakistan/story/1/5272.html|title=Gurdaspur attack: How Punjab Police bravely battled terror|publisher=|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gurdaspur-dinanagar-terror-attack-punjab-dgp-terrorists-alive/1/454369.html|title=Gurdaspur attacks: Punjab DGP wants to get terrorists alive|publisher=|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref>
The first response was led by Punjab Police [[Superintendent of police (India)|Superintendent of Police]] Baljeet Singh, which lead to the death of one of the gunmen.<ref name=daily/> SP Baljeet Singh later died in the gunbattle.<ref name=daily/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Martyred-SP-Baljit-Singhs-father-too-died-in-a-terror-attack/articleshow/48239874.cms |title=Martyred SP Baljit Singh’s father too died in a terror attack |work=The Times of India |accessdate=27 July 2015}}</ref> The [[Indian Army]] and the [[National Security Guards|NSG]] also responded to the attack, however, the [[Punjab Police (India)|Punjab Police]] maintained the lead on the counter-terrorism operation and assigned support roles to the Army and the NSG.<ref name=daily/> A 28 Man group from the [[Punjab Police (India)#Punjab SWAT|Punjab Police SWAT Team]] coordinated a counter-assault and the last militant was killed 11 hours after the terrorist attack began.<ref name="tribunenewsservice">{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html|title=Baptism by fire for Punjab’s elite SWAT|author=Tribune News Service|work=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="hindustantimes.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/gurdaspur-attack-punjab-police-swat-team-bang-on-target/article1-1374194.aspx|title=Gurdaspur attack: Punjab Police SWAT team bang on target|work=http://www.hindustantimes.com/|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref> News Agencies have pointed out that the attack could have been ended by sercurity forces much earlier, as the gunmen were holed up in an abandoned building but the operation was prolonged due to an order to capture at least one gunman alive. This goal was abandoned once it was clear that none of the gunmen intended on being captured and the SWAT Team swiftly neutralized all threats.<ref name="tribunenewsservice"/><ref name="hindustantimes.com"/><ref name="dailyo.in">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyo.in/politics/gurdaspur-terror-attack-punjab-police-force-ss-saini-pakistan/story/1/5272.html|title=Gurdaspur attack: How Punjab Police bravely battled terror|publisher=|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gurdaspur-dinanagar-terror-attack-punjab-dgp-terrorists-alive/1/454369.html|title=Gurdaspur attacks: Punjab DGP wants to get terrorists alive|publisher=|accessdate=2 August 2015}}</ref>

This was the first counter-terrorism operation conducted by the [[Punjab Police (India)#Punjab SWAT|Punjab Police SWAT Team]] and its success has been widely praised.<ref name="tribunenewsservice"/><ref name="dailyo.in"/>

According to police, the terrorists were [[Muslim]]s<ref>{{cite news|title=Gunmen who carried out Punjab attack were Muslim - police|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/07/28/punjab-gurdaspur-attackers-sikhs-muslims-idINKCN0Q221920150728}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Terrorists in Gurdaspur Attack Were Muslim: Police|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/terrorists-in-gurdaspur-attack-were-muslim-police-1201539}}</ref> and were heard shouting ''[[Allāhu Akbar]]'' during siege,<ref>{{cite news|title=Gurdaspur attackers heard shouting Islamic slogans during siege|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/gurdaspur-attack-allah-hu-akbar-cries-by-terrorists-amid-gunshots-khalistan-angle-ruled-out/article1-1373639.aspx}}</ref> contradicting the initial reports that the attack was carried out by [[Khalistan movement|Sikh separatists]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Terrorists in Gurdaspur Attack Were Muslim: Police|url = http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/terrorists-in-gurdaspur-attack-were-muslim-police-1201539|accessdate = 2015-08-01}}</ref>


== Bombs on the railway track ==
== Bombs on the railway track ==

Revision as of 09:35, 4 August 2015

2015 Gurdaspur attack
LocationDina Nagar, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, India
Coordinates32°07′42″N 75°28′11″E / 32.128255°N 75.469683°E / 32.128255; 75.469683
Date27 July 2015
5.30 am (IST)
TargetPunjab police, civilians and Indian Railways
Attack type
Mass shooting
Deaths10[1]
Injured18[1][2]
Defenders

2015 Gurdaspur attack was a terror attack on 27 July 2015 in which three gunmen dressed in army uniforms opened fire on a bus, and then attacked the Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India. The attack resulted in the death of three civilians and four policemen, including a superintendent of police; 15 others were injured. Five bombs were also found planted on the Amritsar–Pathankot line on a rail-bridge near Parmanand railway station, five kilometers from the site of attack. All three attackers were killed in the operation that lasted almost 12 hours.[1][2]

It was a rare militant attack in Punjab since the end, in the mid-1990s, of the Punjab insurgency over the formation of an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan. However such attacks are common in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that borders Gurdaspur, and from where the gunmen were at first suspected to have entered, where Islamic insurgents are seeking independence or accession to Pakistan.[4][5] The defense ministry of India claims, using the GPS system found possessed by the terrorists, that the terrorists entered India through Pakistan.[citation needed]

Attack

The attack took place in Dina Nagar, Gurdaspur district of Punjab on the morning of 27 July 2015. At around 5:30 am, they opened fire on a Punjab Roadways bus coming from Jammu and Kashmir.[6] The bus had 75 passengers, several of whom were injured.[6][7] The bus driver Nanak Chand drove the bus towards them, forcing them to move back. He then swerved the bus and drove it straight to a government hospital, where the injured passengers were treated.[8]

After firing indiscriminately near the bus stand, the assailants targeted a roadside eatery and took off in a Maruti 800 car with Punjab registration number. They shot dead a roadside vendor near Dinanagar bypass.[9] They shot the driver and sped towards the Dina Nagar police station.[6] The attackers targeted a community health centre adjacent to Dinanagar police station, killing three civilians including a woman and a policeman.The gunmen then entered the Dinanagar police station and opened fire, seriously injuring five policemen.[10]

The first response was led by Punjab Police Superintendent of Police Baljeet Singh, which lead to the death of one of the gunmen.[6] SP Baljeet Singh later died in the gunbattle.[6][11] The Indian Army and the NSG also responded to the attack, however, the Punjab Police maintained the lead on the counter-terrorism operation and assigned support roles to the Army and the NSG.[6] A 28 Man group from the Punjab Police SWAT Team coordinated a counter-assault and the last militant was killed 11 hours after the terrorist attack began.[12][13] News Agencies have pointed out that the attack could have been ended by sercurity forces much earlier, as the gunmen were holed up in an abandoned building but the operation was prolonged due to an order to capture at least one gunman alive. This goal was abandoned once it was clear that none of the gunmen intended on being captured and the SWAT Team swiftly neutralized all threats.[12][13][14][15]

This was the first counter-terrorism operation conducted by the Punjab Police SWAT Team and its success has been widely praised.[12][14]

According to police, the terrorists were Muslims[16][17] and were heard shouting Allāhu Akbar during siege,[18] contradicting the initial reports that the attack was carried out by Sikh separatists.[19]

Bombs on the railway track

Meanwhile, a railway trackman named Ashwani Saini while patrolling along the railway track between Dinanagar and Jhakholari railway stations spotted five bombs wired to a small bridge on the Amritsar-Pathankot line.[20] The bombs were detected just before a passenger train was about to cross the bridge; the train stopped 200 metres from the bombs. The railway authorities suspended all the rail traffic on the section, before the bomb-disposal squads defused the bombs.[8] As per MHA sources, 2 x GPS, 3 x AK-47, 10 x magazines and 2 x China-made grenades were recovered from the terrorists.[21]

Aftermath

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the attacks were carried out by the Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayiba.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Tribune News Service (27 July 2015). "Terror attack in Gurdaspur; SP among seven killed". The Tribune. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Gurdaspur Attack: Encounter ends; 3 civilians, 4 policemen dead". The Hindu. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Army on standby as Punjab Police tackle terrorists".
  4. ^ "Pakistan condemns Gurdaspur Attack in India". Fitrak News. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  5. ^ Barry, Ellen (27 July 2015). "Gunmen in India Kill at Least 5 in Attack on Bus and Police Station". New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Gurdaspur attack: How Punjab Police bravely battled terror". Daily O. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Suspected terrorists attack bus, police station in Punjab's Gurdaspur". India Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Punjab terror attack: Bus driver saved many lives". The Times of India. 27 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Punjab Terror Attack (Gurdaspur ) – Terrorists Stormed Police Station and Bus". Tidings Today. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Gurdaspur terror attack: One terrorist killed, another injured; Punjab SP (Detective) martyred". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Martyred SP Baljit Singh's father too died in a terror attack". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b c Tribune News Service. "Baptism by fire for Punjab's elite SWAT". http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html. Retrieved 2 August 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  13. ^ a b "Gurdaspur attack: Punjab Police SWAT team bang on target". http://www.hindustantimes.com/. Retrieved 2 August 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  14. ^ a b "Gurdaspur attack: How Punjab Police bravely battled terror". Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Gurdaspur attacks: Punjab DGP wants to get terrorists alive". Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Gunmen who carried out Punjab attack were Muslim - police".
  17. ^ "Terrorists in Gurdaspur Attack Were Muslim: Police".
  18. ^ "Gurdaspur attackers heard shouting Islamic slogans during siege".
  19. ^ "Terrorists in Gurdaspur Attack Were Muslim: Police". Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  20. ^ Tribune News Service. "Courageous railway trackman saves 270 lives". http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/community/courageous-railway-trackman-saves-270-lives/112285.html. Retrieved 2 August 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  21. ^ "Terrorist attack in Punjab, Terror attack in Punjab, Terror attack in Punjab Gurdaspur district". The Times of India. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  22. ^ "Updates: 'Gurdaspur operation planned well in advance', says Punjab Police - Oneindia". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 29 July 2015.


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