Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR: Police and security forces have apprehensions of a larger fidayeen strike, most likely in or around the turbulent summer capital, as they have received ‘credible reports’ of significant terrorists movement in Chhanpora-Chadoura belt in southern Srinagar, Ganderbal and Bandipore areas of Kashmir valley in the last few days.
Highly placed authoritative sources told STATE TIMES that a group of five Lashkar-e-Tayyiba terrorists, which has been in movement in Chhanpora and Kralpora areas, in close vicinity of the Indian Air Force (IAF) base, for the last one week, was planning a major strike on a military target. Police and security forces have been put on alert even as no specific target has been identified.
According to these sources, security forces have also learned about the presence and movement of a group of eight terrorists, including 3 Pakistani cadres of LeT, in Onagam area of Bandipore district. Forces have been informed that the terrorists have descended on the village twice this week to secure food and thereafter returned to the dense forest cover.
According to yet another ‘credible report’ available with Police and security forces, a group of four terrorists, led by a foreigner in combat gear, has been spotted in movement in Batwena, Waskora and Khanpora villages of Ganderbal district.
“We have been usually receiving such reports but there’s a perceptible change and intentions of the freshly pushed in terrorists to carry out high profile, news-making strikes are clear. We are taking all necessary precautions to fail their plans”, said a senior official.
According to him, over 100 highly indoctrinated terrorists of LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen outfits were believed to have infiltrated into the Valley in the past over three months of the street turbulence. Army has foiled more than 20 infiltration attempts and killed around 30 terrorists on the LoC during the same period.
However, no major cordon-and-search operation has been conducted in the valley hinterland after the July 8 encounter in Bamdora Kokernag, Anantnag, in which three terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideen’s poster boy Burhan Wani, had been killed. Police and security forces have been forced to completely freeze their movement beyond their camps and riot spots as the authorities have apprehensions that the people of the area under an operation could gather en mass and create disruption to help the terrorists escape. Fatalities in such confrontations are a stark possibility.
Over a thousand vehicles are estimated to have been damaged and scores more torched on roads by the shutdown vigilantes in the last three months. Besides, over 500 people are estimated to have been injured in incidents of stone pelting for violating the separatists’ call for continued shutdown since July 8. In the same period around 90 persons have died in Police and security forces’ firing and thousands have been injured in firing, mostly out of the pump action guns.
