NIA suspects
Army’s Command Hqs was target of fidayeen
attack
●Search on for Lalchowk shopkeeper, Pulwama's 'Mantri' who met Naveed's group before terror strike on highway
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
_______
SRINAGAR, Aug 8: In the very preliminary phase of the high profile investigation, National Investigation Agency (NIA) is understood to have discovered how Pakistan-based jihadist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba had launched a group of four meticulously indoctrinated militants for a suicide strike, most probably on Army’s Northern Command headquarters of Udhampur on Srinagar-Jammu highway.
The captured militant Naveed alias Usman, according to the sources privy to his two-day-long interrogation, has stuck to his statement that the BSF convoy he attacked on August 5 at Samroli was the target of his group’s fidayeen strike. However, his interrogators suspect that the real target of the alleged LeT plan was Udhampur-based headquarters of the Army’s Northern Command.
"He has not given a convincing answer why his group travelled over 200 Kms on the highway to strike on a BSF convoy which could have been attacked anywhere from Anantnag to Ramban", said a source, though he sounded confident that the Amarnath pilgrimage caravan was not the target.
The NIA team's head, IGP SK Singh, maintained that his organisation would not disclose anything on the progress of the investigation till completion of the process. IGP Kashmir Javaid Mujtaba Gilani confirmed to STATE TIMES that six suspects had been "informally called for questioning". "We are trying to get to the reality but many names he has mentioned were not found real. Even the registration number of the truck that purportedly carried the militants from Kulgam to Udhampur turned out to be the number of a scooter. But we are sure things will become clear in the next two days", IGP Kashmir said.
Nonetheless, STATE TIMES managed to gain access to what the detained militant Naveed has revealed to the NIA interrogators during two days of sustained questioning and what has made at least a dozen persons in South Kashmir to go underground. Houses of two such families on Saturday were found locked in Kulgam and Awantipore areas.
Naveed, according to his interrogation report, has revealed that his four-member group was launched from Halan area of Pakistan by the LeT patron Hafiz Sayeed's son Talha for a major fidayeen strike in J&K. On May 27, the group comprising Naveed and Noman (the militant who died in the encounter at Samroli on August 5), besides Ukasha and Mohammad Bhai, both from Khyber Pakhtunkhwah area of NWFP, set off from Halan. On June 2, it crossed into Gulmarg sector of Kashmir after cutting the fencing at Fajja Top.
While walking with the help of GPS, the group reached Babarishi Gulmarg on June 7.
On the same day, a Kashmiri militant of LeT, Ashiq Hussain Bhat alia Obaida of Chursu, Awantipora, received the group in Babarishi area. He called Showkat of Khadarmooh village of Pulwama with his tipper to Tangmarg. On June 9, Showkat left for Khadermooh with the four Pakistani militants. However, on learning by phone that the Kashmir-based LeT chief Qasim’s hideout in Khadermooh had been raided by Army, Showkat at Pampore diverted his tipper to Awantipora and delivered the four militants at Chursu. Naveed disclosed that he and other members of his group stayed at the houses of Javed and Fayaz at Chursu, on Srinagar-Jammu highway, for four days before shifting to Kakpora and Khadarmooh villages on Pampore-Pulwama Road.
After staying in Kakpora for three days, Naveed's group shifted to Let's hideout in Khrew forest area and stayed there for 40 days. He claimed that three fresh recruits joined his group there and many of South Kashmir-based militants visited the hideout during the month of Ramzan.
On July 23, tipper driver Naseer of Wuyan picked up five militants-----Naveed, Dujana, Shahin Gulzar, Showkat Lone and Abu Ukasha---- and carried them from Khrew to Kakpora. He droped Naveed and Dujana at Kakapora and took three more of the group towards Pulwama where they were intercepted by police. However, all the five militants managed to escape.
Naveed disclosed that during his group’s stay at Kakpora, he was in company of the local LeT militant Talib Shah who got killed in an encounter with Army and Police at his village in 24 hours of the Samroli fidayeen attack. He and other militants also met an important contact called 'Mantri' who looked after their planning and movement. 'Mantri', Naveed disclosed, runs a bakery. Another contact called Tanna, who is Dujana's "overground worker", arranged the vehicle of one Riyaz of Khaderpora by which Dujana went all the way to Lalchowk in Srinagar to receive money from a shopkeeper.
NIA, alongwith J&K Police, are now looking for 'Mantri', Tanna and the Lalchowk shopkeeper.
About a week before the Samroli action, Naveed and Dujana were guided from Kakpora to Khudwani village of Kulgam by Tanna and another local militant Hamza. They stayed at the house of one Riyaz who runs a welding shop near the school at Redwani. It was there that they met with the Kashmir chief of LeT, a Pakistani militant most wanted in South Kashmir. While Tanna and Hanza went back to Pulwama, Qasim assigned the group a high profile fidayeen attack in Jammu region.
After six-day stay in Khudwani, during which they also met Talha, Momin alias Kachru, Muzamil and a civilian contact, Feroz Zargar, Naveed disclosed that he, Noman and Majid left for Jammu in a truck of Showkat alias Setha and conductor Khursheed who separately operates his own truck which met with an accident in Jammu about a month back. Khursheed was injured in that accident. Naveed mentioned registration number of Setha's truck as JK13-2586.
He narrated that on August 4, their truck crossed Lower Munda Toll Post at 2.15 pm. At Ramban, he got down and purchased two bags and some eatables. He said that they put up at Tamatar Morh near Kudh for the night after cooking and eating dinner. Early morning they proceeded towards Udhampur and carried out the attack on the BSF convoy at Samroli after taking Namkeen Chai at a wayside restaurant.
Noman died and Naveed was arrested. Two BSF men got killed and 12 others injured in the fidayeen attack.
Sources said that Police and security agencies are sure that the number of the militants delivered in Udhampur was four to six rather than only two to three as mentioned by Naveed.
END
●Search on for Lalchowk shopkeeper, Pulwama's 'Mantri' who met Naveed's group before terror strike on highway
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
_______
SRINAGAR, Aug 8: In the very preliminary phase of the high profile investigation, National Investigation Agency (NIA) is understood to have discovered how Pakistan-based jihadist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba had launched a group of four meticulously indoctrinated militants for a suicide strike, most probably on Army’s Northern Command headquarters of Udhampur on Srinagar-Jammu highway.
The captured militant Naveed alias Usman, according to the sources privy to his two-day-long interrogation, has stuck to his statement that the BSF convoy he attacked on August 5 at Samroli was the target of his group’s fidayeen strike. However, his interrogators suspect that the real target of the alleged LeT plan was Udhampur-based headquarters of the Army’s Northern Command.
"He has not given a convincing answer why his group travelled over 200 Kms on the highway to strike on a BSF convoy which could have been attacked anywhere from Anantnag to Ramban", said a source, though he sounded confident that the Amarnath pilgrimage caravan was not the target.
The NIA team's head, IGP SK Singh, maintained that his organisation would not disclose anything on the progress of the investigation till completion of the process. IGP Kashmir Javaid Mujtaba Gilani confirmed to STATE TIMES that six suspects had been "informally called for questioning". "We are trying to get to the reality but many names he has mentioned were not found real. Even the registration number of the truck that purportedly carried the militants from Kulgam to Udhampur turned out to be the number of a scooter. But we are sure things will become clear in the next two days", IGP Kashmir said.
Nonetheless, STATE TIMES managed to gain access to what the detained militant Naveed has revealed to the NIA interrogators during two days of sustained questioning and what has made at least a dozen persons in South Kashmir to go underground. Houses of two such families on Saturday were found locked in Kulgam and Awantipore areas.
Naveed, according to his interrogation report, has revealed that his four-member group was launched from Halan area of Pakistan by the LeT patron Hafiz Sayeed's son Talha for a major fidayeen strike in J&K. On May 27, the group comprising Naveed and Noman (the militant who died in the encounter at Samroli on August 5), besides Ukasha and Mohammad Bhai, both from Khyber Pakhtunkhwah area of NWFP, set off from Halan. On June 2, it crossed into Gulmarg sector of Kashmir after cutting the fencing at Fajja Top.
While walking with the help of GPS, the group reached Babarishi Gulmarg on June 7.
On the same day, a Kashmiri militant of LeT, Ashiq Hussain Bhat alia Obaida of Chursu, Awantipora, received the group in Babarishi area. He called Showkat of Khadarmooh village of Pulwama with his tipper to Tangmarg. On June 9, Showkat left for Khadermooh with the four Pakistani militants. However, on learning by phone that the Kashmir-based LeT chief Qasim’s hideout in Khadermooh had been raided by Army, Showkat at Pampore diverted his tipper to Awantipora and delivered the four militants at Chursu. Naveed disclosed that he and other members of his group stayed at the houses of Javed and Fayaz at Chursu, on Srinagar-Jammu highway, for four days before shifting to Kakpora and Khadarmooh villages on Pampore-Pulwama Road.
After staying in Kakpora for three days, Naveed's group shifted to Let's hideout in Khrew forest area and stayed there for 40 days. He claimed that three fresh recruits joined his group there and many of South Kashmir-based militants visited the hideout during the month of Ramzan.
On July 23, tipper driver Naseer of Wuyan picked up five militants-----Naveed, Dujana, Shahin Gulzar, Showkat Lone and Abu Ukasha---- and carried them from Khrew to Kakpora. He droped Naveed and Dujana at Kakapora and took three more of the group towards Pulwama where they were intercepted by police. However, all the five militants managed to escape.
Naveed disclosed that during his group’s stay at Kakpora, he was in company of the local LeT militant Talib Shah who got killed in an encounter with Army and Police at his village in 24 hours of the Samroli fidayeen attack. He and other militants also met an important contact called 'Mantri' who looked after their planning and movement. 'Mantri', Naveed disclosed, runs a bakery. Another contact called Tanna, who is Dujana's "overground worker", arranged the vehicle of one Riyaz of Khaderpora by which Dujana went all the way to Lalchowk in Srinagar to receive money from a shopkeeper.
NIA, alongwith J&K Police, are now looking for 'Mantri', Tanna and the Lalchowk shopkeeper.
About a week before the Samroli action, Naveed and Dujana were guided from Kakpora to Khudwani village of Kulgam by Tanna and another local militant Hamza. They stayed at the house of one Riyaz who runs a welding shop near the school at Redwani. It was there that they met with the Kashmir chief of LeT, a Pakistani militant most wanted in South Kashmir. While Tanna and Hanza went back to Pulwama, Qasim assigned the group a high profile fidayeen attack in Jammu region.
After six-day stay in Khudwani, during which they also met Talha, Momin alias Kachru, Muzamil and a civilian contact, Feroz Zargar, Naveed disclosed that he, Noman and Majid left for Jammu in a truck of Showkat alias Setha and conductor Khursheed who separately operates his own truck which met with an accident in Jammu about a month back. Khursheed was injured in that accident. Naveed mentioned registration number of Setha's truck as JK13-2586.
He narrated that on August 4, their truck crossed Lower Munda Toll Post at 2.15 pm. At Ramban, he got down and purchased two bags and some eatables. He said that they put up at Tamatar Morh near Kudh for the night after cooking and eating dinner. Early morning they proceeded towards Udhampur and carried out the attack on the BSF convoy at Samroli after taking Namkeen Chai at a wayside restaurant.
Noman died and Naveed was arrested. Two BSF men got killed and 12 others injured in the fidayeen attack.
Sources said that Police and security agencies are sure that the number of the militants delivered in Udhampur was four to six rather than only two to three as mentioned by Naveed.
END
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