Security forces foiled Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror plot to wreak “great havoc” and target “grassroots” democratic exercises in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra said on Friday. Modi, a day after four suspects The infiltrators were shot dead in a three-hour encounter on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Modi held a review meeting with Interior Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and senior intelligence officials to assess the security situation in the Union Territory. , where investigators said the Jaish plan had a twofold objective: to carry out a strike on the 12th anniversary of the 11/26 Mumbai attacks and to stoke fear before the next elections for local bodies in the region.
“The neutralization of 4 terrorists belonging to the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed and the presence of a large cache of weapons and explosives with them indicates that their efforts to wreak great havoc and destruction have once again been thwarted” Modi tweeted after the review meeting.
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“Our security forces have once again shown the utmost courage and professionalism. Thanks to their alert, they have defeated a nefarious plot to attack grassroots democratic exercises in Jammu and Kashmir, ”he added, referring to the District Development Council (DDC) elections, which will be held from November 28 to December 22.
The four Jaish terrorists, believed to be Pakistani nationals, had infiltrated India from the Samba sector in the early hours of Thursday along with a huge shipment of weapons and ammunition, including six AK-56 rifles, five rifles. AK-47, three pistols. , 16 AK chargers, a pack of RDX, 20 Chinese hand grenades, six UBGL grenades and 20 kg of explosive, according to J&K security officials who did not want to be identified.
Acting with intelligence information, the security forces intercepted the truck transporting the terrorists to the Kashmir Valley around 4.50 am at the Ban toll plaza near Nagrota in the Jammu district. The terrorists were shot dead in the shooting that followed. Two security agents were injured in the operation. They are said to be stable. The truck driver is on the run.
“A few days ago, (Jaish founder Masood Azhar’s brother) Abdul Rauf Asghar, alias Rauf Lala, was seen across the international border in the Shakargarh area of Narowal district. The area has launch pads (to push terrorists into India), ”said one of the officials cited above, requesting anonymity.
Intelligence agencies had warned of a possible infiltration attempt and a major terrorist attack on November 26 (coinciding with the Mumbai attacks of 2008 and just before the start of the local body’s elections), said this official. He said that staff from the Jammu and Kashmir Police Special Operations Group and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were ready.
The truck carrying the terrorists had a false license plate, according to officials who have identified the vehicle. It was spotted at 8.31pm on November 1 in Lakhanpur (in Kathua district, on the border with Punjab) and was on its way to Punjab. He returned (to Lakhanpur) with grains of rice around 10.33 am on November 9, they added.
The truck was not seen on the highway between November 10 and 18. On November 19, he was seen in the Samba district on the Pathankot-Jammu highway at 3.43 a.m., where he paid the toll tax, officials said. He arrived at the Ban toll plaza, the meeting place, around 4.45 am via Bajalta Chowk on the Sidhra turnoff of Jammu district, according to investigators.
“The driver fled the scene when the security personnel approached the vehicle; they were subjected to intense fire, ”said the official quoted above.
According to investigators, the terrorists were asked to surrender, but they fired at the forces and threw grenades at them. The truck, loaded with sacks of rice, caught fire during the encounter. While the weapons were silent, the bodies of the terrorists were recovered from inside the truck. Officials said the Pakistani-branded drugs found on the terrorists showed they infiltrated from across the border.
“These terrorists often use streams and swampy land along the 198 km international border in winters, when fog reduces visibility, to sneak into the Jammu region,” said an Indian army officer who did not want to be identified. .
“Once in Indian territory, it is not a big deal for these terrorists, trained in guerrilla warfare, to cover the distance from the international border to the Jammu-Pathankot highway (10-15km),” added this official, noting that they also get Indian side sleeper cell support.
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