*Terrorists intruded 3 days back from Baniyal
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 2: Security forces today effectively thwarted, what could have been a major catastrophe, by eliminating four dreaded terrorists of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station at Takki Chowk in Pathankot district, just 20 kilometers from Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir in early hours of this morning. Three security personnel including a ‘Garud commando’ of the IAF, attained martyrdom in the gunbattle.
“All four militants killed by the security personnel in the gunbattle that raged for about 17 hours, starting 3.30 am, were Pakistanis affiliated with `Sneak and Strike’ team of Afzal Guru Squad of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit, who had infiltrated into the Indian territory along river Beas from village Baniyal in Pathankot, the border between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, about three days back,” official sources told the Excelsior.
IAF including its ‘Garud commandos’, NSG, Special Forces (also known as para commandos) of Army and Punjab Police SWAT teams jointly executed the entire operation that was declared closed at 7 pm with the killing of all four militants, sources said, adding a major catastrophe was averted as the security personnel didn’t allow the militants to reach close to IAF airbase as they were equipped with highly sophisticated arms and explosives capable of causing extensive damage inside.
“Though the militants managed to enter the IAF station, located at Takki Chowk, about three kilometers from Pathankot, they were not allowed to reach to the airbase, thus, averting a major tragedy and foiling plan of the militants, for which they had been sent from Pakistan,” sources said.
Sources said the men entered at about 3:30 am into the base, one of the largest of the IAF spread over about 2000 acres, through a gap in the peremitre wall which is heavily forested.
“Because of the prior intelligence input, a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) was stationed there which made the first contact with the terrorist within 45 metres into the base,” the sources said.
They added that while one terrorist was killed on the spot, the rest three scattered. The second terrorist was killed around 10 AM while the third and fourth terrorist were killed early evening.
Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra told the Excelsior that there were no signs to indicate that the militants had infiltrated from the International Border (IB) in Jammu.
“There were no signs of that (the militants’ intrusion from IB in Jammu sector),” Rajendra, who camped at Kathua along with IGP Jammu Danesh Rana, supervising operations to ensure that the militants didn’t enter into the State, said. The DGP toured various border areas on Kathua and Hiranagar sectors.
Sources said the Pakistani terrorists were believed to have infiltrated into India during the intervening night of December 30-31 from a spot near Bamiyal village in Pathankot, located close to the International Border.
The terrorists, official sources said, crossed over near Shakargarh in Pakistan to Bamiyal village and later changed into Army fatigues before kidnapping Salwinder Singh, a Superintendent of Police-rank officer, who was shunted out from Gurdaspur to take charge as Assistant Commandant of 75th battalion of Punjab Armed Police, at Kolian village.
There were three occupants in the vehicle when it was hijacked by five militants which included Singh’s jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and the driver.
While the terrorists slit the throat of other two, the police officer, who is facing charges of alleged breach of discipline, was released later and the vehicle was abandoned at Tajpur village, a place which is 2 km from the IAF’s Pathankot air base.
One of the militants is alleged to have used the phone of the jeweller, who is undergoing treatment in a hospital, to make a call to Bhawalpur in Pakistan which was intercepted by intelligence agencies.
The area from where the terrorists crossed over has a thick foliage of elephant grass which provides an automatic cover for them, they said.
A tributary of river Beas enters into Pakistan from this village and this route is quite famous for drug smugglers to enter India.
They had camped in the border areas before coming out on the highway and kidnapping three police officials of Punjab including a SP, killing one and releasing two others including the SP.
Sources said it had become imminent yesterday that a group of militants had entered along Jammu-Punjab border and could strike anytime. All installations of security forces and police had been put on high alert in Jammu especially those located along Jammu-Pathankot National Highway to thwart the militant attack.
According to sources, the Intelligence agencies had tracked atleast four calls the militants made from their mobile telephones to their handlers in Pakistan in which they continued to brief the handlers on their entry into India and, in turn, received directions from across the border on the attack. One of the militants had even spoken to his family before carrying out the attack. The militants had used Pakistani mobile telephones and spoke close to the IB, where Pakistani SIMs are workable.
All these telephones have been seized to extract the data and other details.
The militants had brought with them huge weaponry including AK-47, AK-56 and Insas rifles apart from sophisticated grenades and explosive material to cause huge devastation inside the IAF base but security personnel thwarted plans of the militants and their Pakistan based mentors.
The weaponry seized from the militants had the marking of Jaish-e-Mohammad. According to sources, the militants were part of Jaish-e-Mohammad Afzal Guru Squad, which had been formed in Pakistan for sneak and strike attack, the one of which was witnessed in Tanghdar area of Kupwara sector in Kashmir valley sometime back.
Sources said identity of slain militants couldn’t be established as they were not carrying any documents with them but they were confirmed Pakistanis by their language etc.
It was after a long time that the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit has come into limelight as previous fidayeen attacks on the Highways in Jammu and Punjab were executed by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit. Sources said both LeT and JeM were frustrated following growing friendship between India and Pakistan especially after sudden visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lahore on way back from Afghanistan to New Delhi and were in search of executing major terror attack to derail talks between the two countries.
Sources said barring three initial casualties of IAF including that of `Garud commando’, the NSG, IAF, Special Forces and Punjab Police SWAT teams didn’t suffer any fresh casualties during the day long operation in which the IAF choppers were used to track down the battle hardened militants.
Immediately after the attack, authorities suspended vehicular movement on Jammu-Pathankot National Highway. However, the train traffic was allowed with tightened security as rail track was far away from site of the gunbattle. Traffic on Jammu-Pathankot Highway was restored in the morning.
However, traffic on Narot Jaimal Singh-Dinanagar road remained suspended for heavy vehicles throughout the day. Only small vehicles were being allowed on this road.
Northern Command spokesperson Col SD Goswami said: intelligence inputs had been available of a likely attempt by terrorists to infiltrate into the military installations in Pathankot area. In response, preparatory actions had been taken by the IAF to thwart any such attempt”.
Col Goswami said it was due to effective preparation and coordinated efforts by all security agencies that the terrorists were detected by aerial surveillance platforms as soon as they entered the Air Force station at Pathankot. He added that the infiltrators were immediately engaged and contained within a limited period, thus, preventing them from entering the Technical Zone, where “high value assets” are parked.
“Through timely and prompt action by all agencies, the likely plan of the terrorists to destroy valuable assets of the Air Force has been foiled,” Col Goswami said.
The IAF also said that timely intelligence and prompt action has foiled the likely plan of terrorists to destroy its valuable assets at the Pathankot air base.
The Pathankot IAF facility, located about 40 kilometers away from the border with Pakistan, is the base of MiG-21 fighter planes and Mi-25 attack helicopters of Air Force.
In a statement issued nearly 15 hours after a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists stormed the air base, leading to a fierce gun battle in which three security personnel were killed along with five attackers, the Air Force said they had intelligence that such an attack would take place.
Sources said with the obvious intention of destroying fighter jets and attack helicopters housed there, the group of terrorists in Army fatigues attempted to storm the base which is barely 40 kms from the International Border with Pakistan but failed to go beyond the outer periphery.
In heavy exchange of fire, a commando and two other personnel of the IAF were killed along with all the five attackers. At least, six security men were also injured.
The terrorists, who are said to have infiltrated three days ago, launched the first ever attack on an Indian Air base at around 3.30 am, their obvious targets being MiG-21 fighter aircraft and MI-25 attack helicopters.
The terrorists could not go beyond the ‘langar’ (eating place) near the outer perimeter of the IAF complex as the security forces were ready to take them on, officials said about the operation which was supervised directly by Doval.
However, after a brief lull, sounds of gunshots and blasts were again heard as the security forces started a combing operation.
The security establishment had anticipated a terror attack after some armed men abducted an SP of Punjab Police on Thursday night and as a result a team of NSG commandos had been rushed here last night itself after the NSA held a series of meetings with the Army chief and top IB officials yesterday. Two columns of Army (comprising about 50 men) were also positioned at the Air base, officials said.
IAF used its two attack helicopters to assist the joint team of ground troops to neutralise the terrorists, the sources said.
The terrorists, with huge quantity of RDX in their possession, made their way to the base from the back side where there is a jungle, they said.
This was the second big terror attack in Punjab in less than a year. Three terrorists had stormed a police station in Dina Nagar in Gurdaspur in July last year before being eliminated in a 12-hour gunbattle.
A team of National Investigation Agency (NIA), mandated to probe terror cases, today reached Pathankot IAF base to gather inputs about the attack. The NIA was likely to probe the attack.
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