Three truck-borne Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants were killed at a toll plaza in Jammu’s Nagrota on Friday morning.
One of two persons arrested from the truck is a cousin of suicide bomber Adil Dar, who carried out a deadly attack in Pulwama last year and killed 40 CRPF jawans, the police said.
“The militants opened fire when a truck was stopped by a police team near the toll plaza, in which one policeman suffered bullet injuries, and is stable now. One terrorist was shot dead in the initial firing. Two others were killed in the combing operation launched in the nearby area, as they made an attempt to escape,” J&K Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh said.
The incident took place at the Bann Toll Plaza on the Srinagar-Jammu Highwayaround 5 a.m., and the militants were hiding behind urea bags in the truck. “They were heading for Srinagar. The six weapons seized show that another group was waiting for them,” said DGP Singh.
Preliminary questioning of the two arrested persons, including the driver and the conductor, suggest that these militants belonged to the JeM. “They (slain militants) all appear to be Pakistani terrorists and had crossed the International Border (IB) from Dayalachak area on Thursday evening in Hira Nagar. They were picked up by the truck on Friday,” Mr. Singh added. “We were alert about their modus operandi and acted swiftly,” he added.
The arrested persons were identified as Maqbool Ahmad and Sameer Dar, both residents of Kashmir’s Pulwama. “One is a cousin of slain Adil Dar,” Inspector General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh told The Hindu .
Dar rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama on the Srinagar-Jammu highway on February 14 last year and killed 40 CRPF jawans, resulting in India’s air strikes inside Pakistan on terror camps. “Yes, the killing of these terrorists has averted a major attack,” said DGP Singh.
The truck bearing registration No. JK03F478 belonged to a person from south Kashmir’s Anantnag. Sources said the operation is on in Nagrota to nab any escaped militants.
