New Delhi, August 13
Intercepts of telecommunication messages between militants in Jammu and Kashmir and their mentors in Pakistan suggest that cadres of foreign terrorist group Al-Qaida are present in the Kashmir valley.Senior security officials engaged in gathering “techint”, or technical intelligence, in the valley said there were intercepts of communications between Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) cadres about the presence of Al-Qaida members.
While some of them were hiding in the higher reaches of Bandipore in north Kashmir along with LeT “chief commander” Bilal, alias Salahuddin, a few more were believed to be holed up in the dense forests of Budhal in Qazigund along the Jammu-Srinagar highway in south Kashmir.
Both these locations were strategically placed as the terrorists could flee to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) within a short span of time in the event of any military offensive.
The communications between two LeT groups in Bandipore and the PoK that were intercepted were on a very low frequency transmitter, a mode of communication not generally used by the militants.
The other intercept was of a conversation on a Thuriya Satellite phone, sources said.
The Al-Qaida had apparently been roped in by the LeT to step up militancy in the Kashmir valley, they said.
— PTI
