Probe says slain fidayeen from Pak

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 13

A day after the three-day-long gunfight ended on Srinagar outskirts, initial police investigations hint that one attacker was a Pakistani national and active in south Kashmir’s Pulwama for the past five months.

Police sources said one of the slain militants was operating under the code name Abu Maaz. “One of the slain militants is Abu Maaz and was operating in Pulwama and police district of Awantipore. He was part of the fidayeen squad that was holed up inside the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute,” a police source said.

“Most probably the second militant is Abu Waleed, also a Pakistani, but we are trying to ascertain his identity,” the source added. The police investigations have also hinted that the militants had sneaked into the building few hours before they set the attic on fire to draw the attention of the security forces.

Two fidayeen of the Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed in the three-day gunfight that erupted on Monday after they barricaded themselves inside a multi-storey EDI building on the outskirts of Srinagar. For the first two days, the forces fired several hundred rounds of rockets and grenades at the building and finally on Wednesday the building was stormed by the Army’s Special Forces.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, SJM Gillani had yesterday said the militants could not carry out the attack on the highway and they took shelter in the building.

Meanwhile, the two slain militants were buried at Sheeri in Baramulla, 60 km from here, along the Srinagar-Uri highway late Wednesday. The J&K Police have not been handing over the bodies of Pakistani militants to locals fearing large-scale law and order problem.

The bodies were buried after carrying out the medical examination and collecting the DNA samples.

Lashkar warns police against helping Army 

Militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba on Thursday said they had profiles of police officers who were helping the Army and the government.  Lashkar chief Mehmood Shah in a statement to a local news agency in Srinagar, said “the police are natives of Kashmir and they should join the people and respect their lives and honour”. “The Indian Army will not remain here forever, the police are natives of Kashmir and they should join the people and respect their lives and honour. Kashmiri people have not committed any crime, they are out against illegal Indian occupation. They are giving sacrifices for your future as well, and you should not allow these sacrifices to go in vain,” Shah said.  “We have complete profiles and records of all police officers that are facilitating the Indian Army and government against Kashmiris.” he added. Shah said the Lashkar had no women’s wing. “The enemy is well aware of our tactical strength and battlefield capabilities. Our mothers and sisters would not need to come to the battlefield till we are there,” he said. — TNS