Major terror bid foiled ahead of Independence Day in J&K, 4 JeM terrorists arrested; IED defused in Kishtwar

JeM terrorists arrest in kashmir — Image Source : VIDEO GRAB INDIA TV
Major terror bid foiled ahead of Independence Day in J&K, 4 JeM terrorists arrested; IED defused in Kishtwar

Averting a major tragedy in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Independence Day, police have busted a module of Jaish-e-Mohammed by arresting four terrorists who were planning the collection of arms dropped by drones and supply to active terrorists in Kashmir, news agency ANI reported.

According to Inspector General of Police, Jammu, one of the arrested JeM terrorists, identified as Ijahar khan alias Sonu Khan, a resident of Mirdan Mohalla in Kandala of Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, disclosed that Munazir Manzoor alias Saifulla of Prichoo Pulwama, a Jaish terrorist in Pakistan, had asked him to collect weapons from near Amritsar which would be dropped by a drone.

The IGP added that Ijahar Khan was asked by a Pakistan-based terrorist to do reconnaissance of Panipat Oil Refinery which he did and sent videos to Pakistan. He was tasked to do reconnaissance of Ram Temple in Ayodhya but was arrested before he could accomplish this task.

Muntazir Manzoor was the first to be arrested in this chain and from him one pistol, one magazine, eight live rounds and two Chinese hand grenades were seized. His truck used for transporting weapons to Kashmir was also seized. Subsequently, three more Jaish terrorists, including Ijahar Khan, were arrested.

Terrorist Touseef Ahmed Shah alias Showket of the Jeff area of Shopian district was tasked by JeM terrorist Shahid and another Jaish terrorist by the name Abrar in Pakistan to take up accommodation in Jammu which he did. He was then asked to procure a second-hand motorcycle for causing an IED blast at Jammu. Shah was arrested before he could complete this task, he added.

Terrorist Jahangir Ahmed Bhat of the Bandzoo area of Pulwama district has been arrested in the case and he is a fruit merchant from Kashmir who was constantly in touch with Shahid in Pakistan and had introduced Ijahgar Khan to him. Bhat was further doing recruitment for JeM in Kashmir and in the rest of the country, police said.

Meanwhile, the Army bomb squad in Kishtwar's Kudiya village defused an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The IED was detected on Kishtwar Keshwan road.

Earlier on Friday, security forces seized improvised explosive device-fitted four sticky bombs from a man in Poonch district. On the information provided by the Border Security Force (BSF), a joint checking party of police, BSF and Army was deployed at Morh Kotan in the district. During checking, a suspicious person was apprehended and during his search, an IED attached with four sticky bombs and Rs 10,500 were seized from his possession.