Srinagar: Notwithstanding repeated denials
by the Army, security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have
reported that nearly 35 to 40 terrorists have entered the
Kashmir Valley but were holed up in higher reaches only due to
extra layer of security by police and para-military forces.
Official reports comprising HUMINT (human intelligence)
and TECHINT (technical intelligence) suggest that small groups
of six to seven terrorists mainly belonging to Pakistan-based
Lashker-e-Taiba entered the Valley through Kupwara and Gurez
sectors and have entrenched themselves in Lolab and Rajwar
forests in extreme north Kashmir.
While army`s top brass in Srinagar-based 15 Corps
attempted to downplay and present a picture that there was no
infiltration this week at a high-level meeting, they were
countered by central intelligence agencies with specific
inputs suggesting that terrorists had managed to sneak in
under their nose, officials privy to the meeting said.
Srinagar: Notwithstanding repeated denials
by the Army, security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have
reported that nearly 35 to 40 terrorists have entered the
Kashmir Valley but were holed up in higher reaches only due to
extra layer of security by police and para-military forces.
Official reports comprising HUMINT (human intelligence)
and TECHINT (technical intelligence) suggest that small groups
of six to seven terrorists mainly belonging to Pakistan-based
Lashker-e-Taiba entered the Valley through Kupwara and Gurez
sectors and have entrenched themselves in Lolab and Rajwar
forests in extreme north Kashmir.
While army`s top brass in Srinagar-based 15 Corps
attempted to downplay and present a picture that there was no
infiltration this week at a high-level meeting, they were
countered by central intelligence agencies with specific
inputs suggesting that terrorists had managed to sneak in
under their nose, officials privy to the meeting said.
Recovery of an under-barrel grenade launcher, GPS,
ammunition and other arsenal were indicative that a group has
moved into this area, the officials said.
This was followed by subsequent encounters in Lolab
where the terrorists had come into the Valley through Machil
sector and in Zaloora area of Sopore where one militant was
killed while five others managed to escape.
The army officials have been trying to play down
these incidents and had no replies as to why there was a
sudden increase in cordon and search operations (CASO) in
Sopore and adjoining Kupwara and Handwara areas.
In the meantime, state police along with central
para-military forces have created a fresh line to ward off
militants from entering the populated areas of the Valley, the
officials said.
Frantic wireless intercepts between the militants and
their masters across the border in Pakistan were suggestive
that the pressure on the fresh arrival of militants was at its
optimum from the security forces and they had been directed to
remain in higher reaches by their handlers, they said.
PTI
