‘Militants planning to target Yatra’
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 17: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, today said that top Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander, who was one among the most wanted 12 militant commanders, was killed along with his two associates in a gun battle in Kulgam district of South Kashmir.
Addressing a press conference here, the IGP identified the Jaish commander as Waleed Bhai, who was an IED expert and had escaped from the cordon four times so far.
Giving details of the operation, he said that acting on a tip off, a joint operation was launched by security forces at Nagnad village of Damhal-Hanjipora area of Kulgam district in which three militants were killed. He added that dead include Waleed Bhat, an IED expert, who was Jaish commander and one among the most wanted 12 commanders. He said that the identity of the other two slain militants is being ascertained.
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The IGP said earlier a Lashkar militant was killed along with two others in Sopore area of North Kashmir recently. “He was also among the most wanted in 12. So, 10 more are still on the run who are wanted,” he said.
Kumar described killing of Waleed Bhai as big success as he was active for the past one and a half years and was operating in South Kashmir areas including Qazigund highway stretch. “We have recovered a US made M-4 carbine from him. His killing is big achievement for us,” he said.
He added that another militant who is among the most wanted remaining 10 is Sajad alias Haider, who is active in Sopore and had recently released a video asking police not to target militant families. “He was the one involved in the abduction of a BJP worker, who was rescued later,” he added.
In his message to militants, the IGP said that police doesn’t target the family members of militants nor does it indulge in any sort of harassment to them. “There is only one case where we arrested mother of a slain militant, against whom there was ample proof. Even the court rejected her bail plea given the concrete evidence we had against her involvement in the militancy,” he said.
The IGP said the manhunt will continue to track down the remaining 10 most wanted militants which include five from Hizbul Mujahideen, two from Jaish and three from Lashkar-e-Toiba. Asked whether all the IED experts of Jaish were killed or is anyone still active, he said:
“There is one more Pakistani militant whose name is Adnan Bhai alias Lamboo Bhai, who is also an IED expert of Jaish. We will continue our operations against the remaining ones and eliminate them soon,” he said.
Kumar said that in North Kashmir two successful operations were conducted recently in which six militants were killed including top Lashkar commander Usman. “In North Kashmir, there are less number of active militants. Our camps are located far from each other, which gives a chance to survive for a bit longer compared to south. We have started operations in North and all the remaining militants will be killed,” he said.
And Army today said that it has received credible inputs that suggest militants are planning to target Amarnath Yatra on the National highway stretch any time after the commencement of the pilgrimage.
Addressing a press conference at Kulgam, Sector commander 9 RR, Brigadier V S Thakur said that the army has received inputs that militants are planning to target Amarnath Yatra somewhere on the stretch of National Highway-44.
“This stretch is a bit sensitive. We are all prepared to foil the militant designs and to ensure smooth conduct of the yatra that is commencing from July 21,” he said.
Asked about the number of active militants in South Kashmir, he said the number is around 100 that includes 25 to 30 foreign militants.
“There is also reports of few individuals who are missing and since Pakistan continues to push in militants into this side, you can add a bit to the number I mentioned,” the Army officer said.
About the Nagnad operation in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, he said the operation was full of challenges as after getting the information about the presence of two to three militants in village Nagnad in Kulgam, from the Deputy Inspector General of Police South Kashmir, operation was launched at around 4:30 am.
“Our troops showed resilience and didn’t even resort to speculative fire at the target house,” he said. He added than an appeal was made to the civilians to evacuate the house. “Two militants fired indiscriminately at the forces with small arms and also lobbed grenades with an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL),” he said adding that both were killed without causing any harm to civilians or the house they were hiding in.
He said a huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the three slain militants which include a US made M-4 Carbine, one AK-47, five magazines, a few grenades and a UBGL.
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