JK DGP says locals sheltered Poonch attack terrorists, drones used by Pakistan for weapon delivery

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday claimed that the terror plot in last week's Poonch ambush has been uncovered and six locals have been arrested for sheltering the terrorists before they carried out the attack on an army vehicle using explosives and weapons that came from Pakistan through drones.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said the April 20 attack was a well-planned one and executed by three to five terrorists. They first did a recce of the area, understood the terrain and then chose the spot of attack.

He said over 200 people have being questioned till now and the operation to neutralise the terrorists involved in the attack is on.

"Six persons (of a module) have been arrested. They include those who have provided material (weapons, ammunition, explosives) to the terrorists besides shelter and food and guided them from one to another place," Singh told reporters during a visit to Rajouri district.

"We are getting clues during questioning. We are working on that," he said.

Singh, who visited Darhal and remote Budh Khanari area in the foothills of snow-covered Pir Panjal mountains, also said that such incidents are not possible without local support.

"One full module in this has been caught. They were giving them support for past two to three months. A local named Nisar and his family were providing all support from food to shelter. The material (explosives) had come from Pakistan through drone. They picked up the weapons and provided them to the terrorists. Weapons, grenades and ammunition explosives were included in that," he said.

He added that security forces are identifying more local support.

"They will be working on it strongly. The terrorists choose places close to forests, where they get local support and also have escape route into forests," he said.

Giving further details about the module, Singh said Nisar has been a terrorist for a long time.

"He was working as OGW of Pakistan origin LeT commander in the 1990s. He was under our radar. We had picked him two to three times in the past for interrogation. He was in our list of suspects and was picked this time too," he said.

"When interrogated, we found he was fully involved along with other family members," the DGP said.

On the modus operandi, he said that the terrorists first did recce of area, understood the terrain and considered aspects like speed of the vehicle to come down to zero in view of downhill terrains and sharp turn at the place of attack.

"They came close and ambushed the vehicle. Then they fired on the vehicle which got damaged. The troops got injured. They planted an IED, set it afire and exploded it," he said.

Singh said there is floating population of terrorists coming from Pakistan.

"They remain here for several months. They do recce and such acts. We have neutralised several of them also in the past. Two to four such terrorists remain active during a period of time," he said.

According to Singh there are 10 to 12 such elements operating in the area.

On the use of Chinese steel core ammunition, he said that it was used in the Dhangri incident too.

"The terrorists come better prepared for such attacks," he said.