LeT planning a major strike around Police headquarters

Troops alerted after militants’ movement in Narkara area

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Jul 2: Police and security forces have been alerted against a possible Lashkar-e-Tayyiba strike around the Police Headquarters on Srinagar Airport Road following reports about movement of some Pakistani militants on western outskirts of the summer capital.

Highly placed authoritative sources said that the movement of a group of three Pakistani militants of LeT was noticed on Friday in Narkara-Gangbug area, in close vicinity of the Police headquarters. Reports available with Police suggested the militants were planning a major strike on Police or security forces either on Hyderpora-Humhama patch of Srinagar Airport Road or on the national highway bypass from Hyderpora to Bemina Crossing.

Reports said that LeT’s South Kashmir Divisional Commander Abu Dujana stayed in Chadoura area of Budgam district earlier this week, making attempts to organise a major fidayeen attack in Budgam-Chadoura-Pakharpora belt. Two of the LeT groups, being conducted by Kashmiri militant operatives Ruhul Amin Dar and Abdul Majid Zargar, are reportedly planning some attacks on Police and security forces on the national highway from Sempora to Bijbehara, as also in Shopian-Kulgam belt.

Before June 3 attack on a convoy in which three BSF men were killed at Bijbehara, militants had late last year carried out an attack on paramilitary forces at Green Tunnel near Bijbehara. Taking advantage of the bad condition of the old highway, militants are reportedly planning fidayeen-type attacks on the highway from Sempora to Pampore, Awantipore to Chursoo and Green Tunnel to Bijbehara. Sources pointed out that militants had not been able to strike anywhere on the newly developed four-lane highway either from Jammu to Udhampur in Jammu Division or from Qazigund to Srinagar in Kashmir Division.

Even as the militants carried out some attacks in 2013 and 2014 on the national highway bypass, there has been no major attack on security forces or Police in Kashmir in the last over three years.

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[Published in today’s STATE TIMES]