J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

LTTE-type attack, say experts
JAMMU, April 20 — The bid to blow up 15 corps headquarters in Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar on Wednesday by a suicide bomber is treated part of the revised strategy adopted by the Pak-trained militants for giving teeth to the ongoing armed campaign in the state.

Bodies of four unidentified militants killed in an encounter with Army at Baramulla on Thursday morning. — photo by Amin War

Suicide bomber belonged to Masood outfit
SRINAGAR, April 20 — The police today claimed that it had identified the suicide bomber, who was killed in a car bomb explosion while trying to force his entry into the Badami Bagh cantonment area.

4 militants shot in encounter
SRINAGAR, April 20 — Four militants were killed in a night-long fierce clash with the security forces at Bazipora Ajas in north Kashmir while elsewhere in the state two militants and a CRPF jawan were killed and four civilians injured during the past 24 hours.

Noise pollution on rise in Srinagar
SRINAGAR, April 20 — The State Pollution Control Board has found the noise level above the permissible limits in the central Lal Chowk and its adjoining areas and three main hospitals here.

LTTE-type attack, say experts
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 20 — The bid to blow up 15 corps headquarters in Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar on Wednesday by a suicide bomber is treated part of the revised strategy adopted by the Pak-trained militants for giving teeth to the ongoing armed campaign in the state.

Had the suicide bomber pushed the explosive loaded car a few meters inside the main gate he could have shed much blood. The explosion which killed the member of the suicide squad and wrecked the car damaged some Army bunkers and caused minor injuries to six people including two soldiers.

The attack was preplanned. Four hours before the attack a car, in which the suicide bomber was placed in the drivers seat, was stolen at gun point by five militants from its woman owner at Lal Bazar in interior of Srinagar. A few days back another car was stolen by militants. The car was used for an explosion at Rawalpora Chowk. Today another car has been stolen and people have been gripped with fear that the car too would be used for carrying out some major explosion.

Under the new strategy the militants have been directed to “destroy” those who “hurt”. Indicating that armed and bomb attacks have to be carried out against the Army, para-military forces and the police.

Informed sources said that groups of militants, especially foreign mercenaries, who have received training in camps in recent months have been trained in carrying out LTTE type attacks on the Indian security forces. The Badami Bagh bomb attack has been exactly carried out like the LTTE fashion. For carrying out series of armed and bomb attacks one to two per cent of militants in a group of 10 have been enrolled as Fedayeen. And these Fidayees have now been enrolled as activists of Jishe Mohamadi, an organisation floated to carry out LTTE-type attacks on security forces.

According to these sources Azhar Masood, one among the three jailed rebel exchanged for the release of 150 Indian Airlines passengers several months ago, is said to have been the brain behind raising Jishe Mohamadi. After his release he has vowed, in press interviews, to avenge his arrest and humiliating treatment in detention in the Kot Balwal jail.

The new strategy provides for equipping foreign mercenaries, camping in the alpine forest belts of Kupwara, Uri, Bandipore, Poonch and Rajouri, with anti-aircraft guns and long range guns for shooting down Indian Air Force planes and helicopters so that major areas in Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a “no fly zone” for the Indian Air Force or Army authorities. This would prevent the Indian security forces from sending troops to higher reaches in the shortest possible time, sending weapons and food to the forces deployed on the mountain ranges.

This strategy is being adopted to checkmate the Indian forces once they plan to carry out strafing of the militancy-infested areas.

The need for carrying out bomb and armed attacks through suicide bombers has been felt by the agencies across the border after they realised that the Indian forces have eliminated scores of top militants arms and seized explosives worth several hundred crores from different rebel hideouts during the past six months.

Consequently, the Pak agencies have decided to step up armed and bomb attacks on the security camps and headquarters to force the Army and the police to be on defensive.

Another instruction given to militants is that they should adopt strict Islamic code and behave like a true friends of Kashmiris. This would help them to regain the support and sympathy from the local people. Reports reveal that of late militant groups have avoided extorting money or food from people. They have been seen paying higher prices for essential commodities than the market rates.

However, the Director General Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, does not feel alarmed by yesterday’s incident at Badami Bagh. He said it was yet another incident confirming that militants had become desperate.

He said that he has been of firm conviction that if infiltration and arms smuggling from across the border were fully checked militancy would meet an early end in the state. He hoped that this year also the centre would be liberal in releasing adequate funds for purchasing sophisticated weapons for the police. Last year Rs 30 crore had been spent on purchasing new weapons for the police which helped the force to take on the militants.

4 militants shot in encounter

SRINAGAR, April 20 (UNI) — Four militants were killed in a night-long fierce clash with the security forces at Bazipora Ajas in north Kashmir while elsewhere in the state two militants and a CRPF jawan were killed and four civilians injured during the past 24 hours.

Shops and business establishments in Sopore and the adjoining areas remained closed in protest against the killing of two students and wounding of 26 others allegedly due to the retaliatory firing by the security forces after a grenade attack at Iqbal Market yesterday.

People who took to streets were demanding stern action against security personnel responsible for firing on pedestrians.

Official sources told UNI that militants fired at a joint search party of the Rashtriya Rifles and the special Operation Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police at Bazipora Ajas in Baramula district late last night.

The security forces also retaliated and in the night-long encounter four militants were killed. Some arms and ammunition, including three AK rifles and a-self leading gun belonging to militants were found at the site of the encounter.

An official spokesman said the security forces killed two militants in an encounter during a search operation at Sajju-Kote last evening while the militants shot dead a CRPF jawan at Shahdhar-Sharief last night.

He said the security forces arrested two militants in the down town city last night.

Sources said unidentified gunmen shot and wounded Abdul Jabbar Dar Hajan last night.

He said an encounter took place between the militants and the security forces at Daggar Baramula in north Kashmir last night during which two civilians were injured. However, the militants escaped.

One civilian was injured during an encounter between the militants and the security forces at Pulwama last evening.

Suicide bomber belonged to Masood outfit
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, April 20 — The police today claimed that it had identified the suicide bomber, who was killed in a car bomb explosion while trying to force his entry into the Badami Bagh cantonment area.

The new trend launched by the militants is yet another jolt to the security setup in the trouble-torn valley after militants made several attempts of storming high security installations last year. The major such attempt was the storming of Badami Bagh cantonment by “fidayeen” of “suicide squad”of the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit on November 3 in which the Defence PRO along with five of his colleagues was among 10 persons killed. The two militants involved in the attack were also killed.

The police claimed that the suicide bomber, who drove the car to the main gate of the Badami Bagh cantonment area here yesterday afternoon, was identified as an 18-year-old student, Afaq Ahmad Shah, affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit. Afaq Ahmad had failed in the recently declared results of the Class XI examinations. The car which he drove to the gate belonged to a woman, Riffat from the Lal Bazar locality in the city. As already reported two gunmen snatched the car from her between 1.30 pm and 2 pm yesterday. The car was blown up along with the militant driver at about 3.50 pm. The owner of the car had immediately lodged a report with the Lal Bazar police post.

However, an anonymous caller told an international media agency here last evening that the militant, Afaq Ahmad belonged to the newly-constituted Jaish Mohammad (Army of the Prophet Mohammad) outfit of Azhar Masood. Azhar Masood had constituted the outfit early this year, after he was released along with two others in exchange of the passengers of the hijacked IA plane at Kandhahar on December 31. Earlier, Masood Azhar was associated with Harkat-ul-Ansar.

The militants had used similar explosives, according to the police, in a car bomb explosion, which took place at the Rawalpora Crossing on the Srinagar by-pass on the outskirts of the capital city early this month. The car was totally damaged in the explosion, but there were no casualties. There pedestrians were injured in the explosion.

There have been at least nine such incidents since July last year, in which the militants attacked and stormed high security installations beginning from the attack on the DIG BSF headquarter at Bandipore on July 12. The DIG and two of his colleagues were killed in the incident. One militant was claimed killed by the police following an action by the NSG commandos after a siege of two days around the residential quarters where the militants were holed up. A Major and two JCOs were killed in another similar incident at Nutnus in Kupwara district on August 6. The militants attacked Army camps at Trehgam in Kupwara, Beerwah in Badgam district, Divisional headquarter, Baramula, Headquarter of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the J&K police in Srinagar on December 27, and Army camp at Khannabal, Anantnag on January 12. At least 50 security force personnel have been killed in these attacks. The militants also succeeded in killing at least seven policemen on duty in the Lal Chowk area in Srinagar on December 13.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit claimed that the outfit had launched “Operation Gouri” against the security forces in the valley. This, according to a statement issued in some of the local dailies, was jointly carried out by the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

The attacks since last year were launched after the Kargil crisis, which continued form May to July. Senior police and security officers claim that such attacks by the militants were being carried out following the “defeat” their mentors across the border faced in Kargil.

Noise pollution on rise in Srinagar
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, April 20 — The State Pollution Control Board has found the noise level above the permissible limits in the central Lal Chowk and its adjoining areas and three main hospitals here.

In its recent check for noise pollution in Lal Chowk, Jehangir Crossing, Tulsi Bagh, Kursoo Rajbagh, Exhibition Crossing besides SMHS hospital, Bone and Joints hospital and Lal Ded hospital, the board team observed that the level of noise pollution was much higher during the day time.

At most of these places, the noise level during the day time was found to be above the permissible level. At Lal Chowk, the level was found to be 93 decibels against the permissible level of 65 decibels. The noise level at Jehangir Crossing is the highest at 99 decibels.

The noise levels in the three hospitals of Lal Ded, Bone and Joints at Burzulla and SMHS were 65 decibels, 61 decibels and 60 decibels, respectively against the permissible limit of 50 decibels.

At Kursoo Rajbagh and Tulsi Bagh which are residential areas, the level was 70 and 69 decibels respectively, against the permissible level of 55 decibels, the spokesman said.

A spokesman for the board has said that there had been considerable awareness among public regarding checking of noise pollution. He added that the traffic and other concerned agencies had been asked to intensify measures for checking this menace.

PDP memo to Governor
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 20 — The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded immediate end to the military approach to the ongoing turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir in order to stop the loss of human lives. It has called for a dialogue with all sections of the local population, including those whose policy may be diametrically opposed to that of ruling establishment’s.

These and other demands are contained in a three-page memorandum submitted to the Governor, Mr G.C. Saxena, by the PDP President, Mr Mufti Mohd. Sayeed here today.

Expressing deep concern over “gruesome killing” of innocent people whether at Chatti Singhpora of Panchaltan and Brarian Aghan in Anantnag district the memorandum has alleged that such incidents had direct “bearing on the security failure of the state and the Central Government. It said that neither the State nor the Central Government have understood the ground realities and said that the judicial probes were hardly any remedy for such massacres.