Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti paying tributes to Army men who were killed by militants in the Nagrota attack, on Wednesday. | Photo Credit:
PTI
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Jaish-squad’s-imprint-at-Nagrota/article16733179.ece
Srinagar: December 01, 2016 02:08 IST
Updated: December 01, 2016 02:13 IST
Urdu notes, energy drinks, dry-fruit packets, AK-47s and grenades recovered from the militants
As the Chief of the Army Staff, General Dalbir Singh, visited the encounter site at Nagrota on Wednesday, recoveries made from the three slain attackers pointed towards the role of Jaish-e-Muhammad’s Al-Shohada Brigade, or Shaheed Afzal Guru Squad, formed in 2013.
Two loose pages bearing text in the Urdu script could be seen in a leaked photograph of the encounter site: they were lying near the bodies of the militants. However, the Army is tight-lipped over the recovery.
The pages have a mention of the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and bear lines such as
Shaheed Afzal Guru ka intekaam ki ek aur kist (one more instalment of the revenge of Afzal Guru’s martyrdom) and
Gazwai Hind ke fidayeen (Conquer-India suicide squad).
String of attacks
On December 5, 2014, the JeM’s Guru squad carried out its first fidayeen attack on the Mohura camp in Uri near the Line of Control (LoC), which left 17 dead, including 11 security personnel. On November 25, 2015, a three-member Jaish squad stormed a frontier Army installation in Tanghdar. Since 2014, most attacks of Jaish have remained limited to the Valley’s hinterland and close to the International Border and the Line of Control.
Besides the notes in Urdu, several bottles of energy drinks, dry-fruit packets and AK-47 rifles were recovered from them.
The militants were carrying a stockpile of grenades with them.
“The weapons have markings of Pakistan,” an Army source said.
Speaking to
The Hindu, Director-General of Police K. Rajendra said,
“We had inputs that terrorists will strike given the increased infiltration in the State.” The Army chief interacted with the Army brass at Nagrota.
Body of no other militant was recovered from the spot so far as the Army continued with the combing operation.
Search on
The bomb disposal squad destroyed scores of explosive material on the site.
“Every nook and cranny is being searched. We don’t want to take any chances,” an Army source said.
Meanwhile, a junior commissioned officer of the Army was injured in a sniper attack from Pakistani troops in Jammu’s Poonch district. His condition is stated to be critical.
A fresh exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops was reported in Kashmir’s Uri Sector in the morning.
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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/584122/militants-may-have-used-tunnel.html
New Delhi, Dec 1, 2016, DHNS:
Violence unabted: Huge quantity of arms, ammunition recovered
Three terrorists who were killed in Samba in Jammu appear to have sneaked into India through a 80-metre-long tunnel along with huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including AK-47, Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs), grenades and GPS.
Investigators are also looking at whether the Samba attack bid has any links with Nagrota Army camp attack. BSF Director General K K Sharma told reporters that his force had inputs about possible infiltration bids from across the border after the army’s surgical strikes in September.
“After the operation got over at the Chamliyal BoP (border outpost), we checked the fence and there was no breach. Then Wednesday morning, we detected a small tunnel of the size of 2x2 metres. We had deployed ‘depth nakas’ across the fence and hence we could detect and neutralise the three militants,” he said.
The tunnel, which is about 75-80 metres from the International Border (IB) and about 35-40 metres from the fence, was found in an agricultural field. Sharma said BSF would take up the matter with Pakistan Rangers, but felt that it may not be of any help due to increased hostilities. The other side is not “getting in touch” for quite sometime now, he added.
Official sources said there is “enough proof” that the militants crawled through the tunnel to reach this side of the border.
They said
three AK-47 guns were recovered from the slain terrorists along with 20 AK magazines and 514 AK rounds. One pistol and 16 rounds were also recovered from them besides 31 grenades and 10 IEDs.
Half of the IEDs were liquid type, while the rest were chain IEDs, which are normally used to blow railway tracks. Sources said the terrorists had used GPS to locate the target.
A mobile phone, two big knives, three bags, two jackets, one lighter and three packets of dry fruits were among the items recovered from the terrorists.
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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/584121/from-family-army-men-akshay.html
Bengaluru, Dec 01, 2016, DHNS:
Major Akshay Girish Kumar from Bengaluru, who laid down his life fighting terrorists at Nagrota in Jammu on Tuesday, came from a family of army men.
Akshay’s father Girish Kumar served as a wing commander before he retired. He is presently working with Jet Airways as a pilot. Even Akshay’s father-in-law is a retired armyman.
Akshay’s family lives at Jade Garden at Sadahalli on International Airport Road. His parents had left for Jammu from where his body is to be flown to Bengaluru. According to a family friend, Akshay was to go on holiday from December 1.