Indo-Pak border to be completely sealed by December 2018: Rajnath Singh

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...age-two-terrorists-reportedly-hiding-4407482/
Updated: December 2, 2016 10:08 pm

This comes three days after 3-4 terrorists stormed into an Army base in Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu on early Tuesday.

Multiple gunshots were heard late on Friday after security forces cordoned off a village in Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, as reported by news agency ANI. Two terrorists are believed to be hiding.

This comes three days after 3-4 terrorists stormed into an Army base in Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu on early Tuesday. Two officers and five jawans were killed in the incident. In a separate incident on the same day in Samba district, three terrorists were gunned down by the Border Security Force along the IB. A BSF jawan was also injured in the Samba operation.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/jammu...t-employee-killed-militants-flee_1955489.html

Last Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2016 - 13:02
Srinagar: A government employee was on Saturday killed during an overnight counter-insurgency operation in south Kashmir's Kulgam district. However, the militants managed to flee.

The security forces, including Army, launched a counter-insurgency operation in Chancer area of Kulgam district last night, following an information about the presence of ultras in the area, police officials said.

The officials said an employee of the Fisheries Department, Assadullah Kumar, was killed in the firing that broke out minutes after the security forces had cordoned off the area.

An Army official said the operation was called off this morning after the security forces did not find any militant.

The militants might have escaped taking advantage of darkness, the official said.

However, the official was tight-lipped about the death of the civilian.

Meanwhile, local residents staged a protest against the killing of Kumar and blocked Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at Vessu.

Meanwhile, Border Security Force troopers have gunned down an intruder from Pakistan in north Punjab.

The incident took place the Bamiyal sector near the Dinda border outpost (BoP) in forward areas of Pathankot district.

The intruder was killed after he came close to the border fencing on the Indian side and did not heed warnings.

The area is close to the Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir border.

On Tuesday, heavily-armed suicide bombers stormed an Army camp in a town near Jammu, triggering a fierce gunfight that left two attackers dead and six soldiers injured, officials said. Two more militants died in another shootout near the International Border on the same day.


First Published: Saturday, December 3, 2016 - 11:26

 

[Hindustani78]

Pakistani currency, a cigarette packet, a matchbox and a soft drink pouch were found on the slain intruder. (HT Photo)

Updated: Dec 03, 2016 15:49 IST
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...n-pathankot/story-PL7xHoFH3dnNHlO6oii3dP.html

Pakistani authorities refused on Saturday to accept the body of a suspected intruder who was shot dead by India’s border guards in Punjab’s Pathankot district, officials said.

The rebuff by Pakistan Rangers, which guards the country’s borders, is seen as its refusal to acknowledge the suspected intruder’s Pakistani citizenship, officials said.

Border Security Force (BSF) had called a “flag meeting” with Pakistan Rangers on Saturday to hand over the body.

Pakistani currency, a cigarette packet, a matchbox and a soft drink pouch were found on the slain intruder, said Pathankot senior superintendent of police Rakesh Kaushal.

“We have sent the body for post-mortem as the other side has refused to take it,” he added.

Officials said two more infiltrators may have gone back after coming under heavy fire.

The intruder was shot dead near the Tinda border outpost in the Bamyal sector, the same area through which Pakistan-based militants had crossed over to attack the air force base in Pathankot and later a police station in Dinanagar, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Security forces launched a search operation on Friday after a speech impaired man claimed to have seen suspected militants on the Punjab-Himachal border.

In an unrelated incident, a government employee was allegedly killed in crossfire during an encounter between security forces and militants in Kashmir’s Kulgam, triggering protests by local residents.

The militants, whose number was not known, managed to escape under the cover of darkness on late on Friday, a police official said.

Officials said the state government employee, Assadullah Kumar, was killed in firing minutes after the security forces had cordoned off the area. It was not clear how Kumar was hit.

Officials were also tight-lipped about the civilian death.

Local residents protested against the killing of Kumar and the blocked Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at Vessu for several hours.

Police also recovered five Indian army uniforms and related military paraphernalia on the Samba-Kathua highway, raising fears of militant movement in the area which saw a brazen attack on an army camp earlier this week that left seven Indian soldiers dead.

An army official, however, said on Saturday the uniforms belongs to a Rashtriya Rifles sepoy, Sandeep Singh, who lost the bag while going home in Gurdaspur on November 21.

“There is no terrorist connection to it,” he added.

Pakistan-based militants have repeatedly targeted Indian defence installations in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir this year, starting with a siege of an air force base in Pathankot in January.

In the latest attack on the Army camp at Nagrota near Jammu on Tuesday, the militants were dressed in police uniform. The place from where the uniforms were recovered on Friday is about 50 km from Nagrota.

 

[Hindustani78]

• Internal Security
• Nagrota attack: Militants gained entry from forest behind Army camp
• 
  
  
  

A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was arrested from Shopian district of south Kashmir. (ANI Photo)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...s-recovered/story-D87p4tSrQrLQxbfY0YSPzL.html

Security forces arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen militant from Shopian district of south Kashmir on Monday and claimed to have recovered two hand grenades from his possession.

Bilal Sheikh was apprehended by a police party from Shopian following a specific tip off, a police official said.

He said two Chinese hand grenades were recovered from his possession, he said.

*********

Security personnel patrol the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway during the search operations following the militant attack on Nagrota Army camp, near Jammu on Wednesday. (PTI)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...camp-attack/story-T7ZI1Yav6QJKkw6BgS5i8K.html

Parallel to the army’s inquiry, the intelligence wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has begun a probe into the terror attack on Nagrota army camp in which seven army personnel including two Major rank officers were killed.

“CID has begun its probe into the Nagrota terror attack and a team has visited the terror site,” a senior police officer said on Monday.

A team of officers led by SSP visited the scene of the terror attack and surveyed the entire premises while trekking down the route that the terrorists are believed to have used to enter the complex, the officer said.

Jammu and Kashmir home department had ordered probe by CID into the Nagorta terror attack and a senior SP rank officer has been appointed as head of its probe panel.

“The probe team will soon submit a preliminary report to the Jammu and Kashmir government through Intelligence Chief of CID,” officer said.

As per the initial reports, the militants who attacked the Army camp at Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu, had entered the premises from the forested area behind. The area has barbed wire and a small wall, they said.

Three militants were killed in the attack.

 

[Hindustani78]

Senior Police and Army officers inspecting Outside Jammu and Kashmir Bank which was looted by unknown gunmen,at Arihal in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

Security jawans stand guard during an encounter between army and militants at Arwani in Anantnag district of South Kashmir.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...Lashkar-militants-trapped/article16776674.ece
A joint team of the army's Rashtriya Rifles (RR), the police's Special Operations Group and CRPF launched the operation in Arwani village.
One civilian was killed and another injured in an operation against hiding militants in south Kashmir on Thursday. Three militants are believed to have been trapped as the gunfight continued.

A Srinagar-based police spokesman said a stray bullet hit Arif Ahmad Shah near the encounter site. “We appeal to the people not to assemble or come close to the encounter site as there is every chance that stray bullets may hit them,” the spokesman said.

Local people threw stones at the Army, the police and the CRPF who carried out a joint operation against hiding militants at Hassanpora-Tabela in Arwani, near the boundary of Kulgam and Anantnag districts.

A gunfight between the militants and a search party started on Wednesday afternoon. Eyewitnesses told The Hindu that scores of civilians sustained injuries as they clashed with security forces at a number of locations, near and away from the encounter site. The authorities suspended mobile-phone services in the afternoon as unconfirmed reports suggested Lashkar-e-Taiba’s operational commander Abu Dujjana was trapped, fuelling more protests.

Two houses damaged

Police sources said militants had met in a house, but Dujjana might have fled. At least two houses were damaged in the encounter as the militants switched from one structure to another.

“The encounter is still continuing. One body is seen near the encounter site. We have not recovered it as the other militants holed up in the building are still firing,” S.P. Vaid, Special Director-General of Police Coordination, Law and Order, told presspersons in Srinagar.

The Azad Kashmir-based United Jihad Council chief Syed Salahuddin confirmed the death of three local militants Majid Zargar, Muhammad Waseem and Rahil Amin.


**************
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/NIA-to-probe-Nagrota-terror-attack/article16773106.ece

The agency has said in its FIR that the identity of terrorists remains unknown but they had ‘foreign handlers’

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday took over the probe into the terror attack at the Nagrota Army camp following an order of the Union Home Ministry. The NIA has said in its First Information Report that the identity of the terrorists who stormed the camp still remains unknown but they had “foreign handlers.”

“Some heavily armed unknown terrorists, on the directions of their foreign handlers, entered into the Army Camp at Nagrota, near the Baleeni Bridge, and started indiscriminate firing upon Army personnel,” an NIA statement said.

The decision comes a day after The Hindu reported that the Army was reluctant to hand over the probe into the Nagrota terror attack to the NIA and had asked the agency to come up with a ‘specific brief’ but made it clear that it was for the Army to investigate the “operational and tactical aspects.”

“The actions of the terrorists constitute scheduled offences under Sections 16,18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. A team of officers of the NIA shall be reaching Jammu shortly to visit the crime scene and commence the investigation,” the NIA statement said.

On November 29, a group of heavily armed terrorists, disguised in police uniform, attacked an Army unit located three km from the Corps Headquarters at Nagrota where seven Army personnel, including two officers, were killed.

 

[Hindustani78]

Security jawans stands guard during Encounter between Army and Militants at Arwani in Anantnag district of South Kashmir on Thursday. A militants and a civilian were killed during on going gunfight so far. PTI Photo

 

[Hindustani78]

Security jawans stand guard during an encounter between army and militants at Arwani in Anantnag district of South Kashmir.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...hmir-two-bodies-recovered/article16783133.ece

An over 40-hour gunfight between militants and security forces ended on Friday morning in south Kashmir. Two bodies were found near the debris of five damaged houses.

A fresh exchange of fire was reported in the morning in Hassanpora-Arwani village bordering Kulgam and Anantnag, around 60 km away from Srinagar. "The firing has stopped. The debris is being sieved through for bodies," said a police official.

A fierce gun battle started on Wednesday afternoon after security forces cordoned off the village where a group of militants had come for a meeting.

Five house were damaged in the encounter. At least two houses have turned into mounds in the prolonged encounter.

The police are yet to identify the bodies of the deceased. Two AK-47 rifles were seized from the spot.

On Thursday, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin had claimed that three local militants were killed as he paid tributes to them.

Protesters clashed with the security forces for the third day. One civilian died and another sustained injuries critically on Thursday.

*********************
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/585731/bsf-foils-pak-intruders-attempt.html
Gurdaspur, Dec 9, 2016 (PTI)
BSF personnel today foiled an attempt by two intruders to cross over to India from Pakistan. The BSF personnel of 170 Battalion were deployed on the Indo-Pak border near Chakkri Border Out Post (BOP) when they noticed that two Pakistani intruders, suspected to be smugglers, were trying to cross over the first fencing wire which was newly constructed and is without gates, a BSF official said.

The BSF personnel challenged them and opened fire but they managed to escape towards Pakistan under cover of darkness and thick fog on the border. BSF has not found any discriminating thing when they searched the area this morning.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/3-LeT-militants-killed-in-Kashmir/article16786531.ece


Two bodies recovered; locals clash with security forces
An over 40-hour-long gunfight between militants and security forces ended on Friday morning after bodies of two local Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were found. Five houses were damaged in the encounter.

An Army spokesman said three holed-up militants were killed. “The bodies of two terrorists and three weapons were recovered,” said the spokesman.

Since Wednesday afternoon, the holed-up militants in a residential area, Hassanabad-Arwani, located on the border of Kulgam and Anantnag districts, kept firing at the search party of the security forces. The Police said DNA samples from the bodies had been collected for identification.

“The operation concluded when a joint team of the police and the CRPF’s quick action team stormed the house and cleared it. The cover fire to the storming team was given by the Army troops,” said a police official.

Two slain militants, identified as Rahil Amin and Majid Zargar, were LeT commanders in south Kashmir. The third body apparently remains buried under the debris.

Meanwhile, locals clashed with the security forces at a number of places in south Kashmir. There were sporadic incidents of stone pelting in Srinagar and north Kashmir.

Shutdown yet again

In the wake of a civilian killing near the encounter site on Thursday, the call for a shutdown given by the separatists affected normal life in the Valley.

MLA Engineer Rashid has asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to persuade New Delhi for a unilateral ceasefire against militants.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/naxal-style-ied-detected-for-first-time-in-kashmir-4421662/

By: PTI | New Delhi | Publishedecember 11, 2016 2:12 pm

For the first time in the decades-old militancy in Kashmir Valley, security forces have been targeted by a Naxal-style IED attack prompting agencies to brace up against the menace that has claimed numerous lives and maimed several troops in Left Wing Extremism hit areas. Taking the development seriously, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), mainstay for anti-Maoist operations in the country, has rushed a team of its counter-Improvised Explosive Device (IED) experts to train and sensitise its troops, those of the BSF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and others against such blasts trigerred by the notorious ‘command-wire’ technique.

“This is for the first time…There have been IED attacks against security forces and their convoys in the past but using the command-wire technique was unheard and unseen here.

“This technique till now has been used by Naxals to target security forces in the LWE affected areas,” CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad told PTI. Taking cognisance of the incident, he has asked a team of IED experts, based at the exclusive Institute of IED Management (IIM) in Pune, to rush to the Kashmir Valley and sensitise the troops as to how to be alert against such deadly attacks.

The first of its kind command-wire IED blast was reported about a month back on the night of November 4 when militants targeted a police bullet-proof ‘Rakshak’ jeep under the Dadasara Police Station area in Awantipora of Pulwama district, which led to injuries to three police officials.

The police team was rushing to a nearby spot after some gunshots were heard but as they were targeted by the blast, they had to be evacuated and rushed to a nearby hospital.

The blast was trigerred by joining the wires drawn from the IED and when the jeep, plying on the normal ‘pucca’ road, went over it, the blast severely damaged the entire front and engine portion of the four-wheeler.

“It could have been bad had the blast took place just behind the engine area.This is something new we witnessed. Taking no chances, we have asked all our units in the Kashmir Valley to prepare and plan against command-wire IEDs now,” Prasad said.

The DG said it was part of further investigations to find out how the suspected militants active in Kashmir adopted this much-abused technique of trigerring hidden blasts on security forces and their convoys.

Till now security forces in the valley have been attacked in gunfire ambushes and attacks, grenade lobbing and fidayeen attackers.

A command-wire ID blasts ensure that the electric cable connected to the IED allows the user complete control over the bomb right up until the moment of initiation and Naxals have been found to lay several hundred metres of wire from the main road into the fields to trigger it without getting noticed and ensuring fatal casualities on the trapped men, by virtue of accurate timing of its detonation.

The command-wire IED blasts in Naxal violence affected areas has not only claimed lives of hundreds of security forces personnel, largely amongst the CRPF, even as it has severely maimed numerous troops rendering them without limbs.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/jammu-and-...ir-former-pakistan-army-man-held_1958170.html
First Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - 22:24
Jammu: Foiling an infiltration bid, BSF nabbed an ex-armyman of Pakistan while he was trying to sneak into India through the International Border (IB) along Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Two Pakistani currency notes of denomination of Rs 500 each, two identity cards, one small knife and a paper with ?CMA Lahore Cantt? written on it were recovered from the arrested person, a BSF officer said.

The arrested person was identified as Mohammad Baksh, a resident of village Gandiyal, tehsil Parsroor of district Sailkot in Pakistan, the officer said.

On questioning, he revealed that he has served in Pakistan army and was now a pensioner.

"In the intervening night of December 12 and 13 aggressive domination by alert border men in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district foiled an infiltration bid?, the officer said.

He said the infiltration bid was attempted under the cover of dense fog and thick sarkanda growth in which one Pakistani intruder was apprehended.

Last night, a suspected movement of 4 to 5 persons was spotted inside Pakistan side close to the IB, the vigilant BSF troops kept their movement under close observation despite poor visibility in the area.

In order to have a better observation of the area, BSF troops fired Para illuminating bombs resulting the suspected persons to retreat towards Pakistan territory, the officer said.

He said after some time, movement of one suspected person was again spotted by the alert jawans close to the International boundary at about 50 meters ahead of fence, moving suspiciously inside Indian territory.

The alert BSF jawans challenged the intruder but he kept on moving without any heed on which a few precautionary rounds were fired in his direction. However, the intruder escaped unhurt due to the undulating ground in the area," he said.

He said after that, the entire area was kept under strict vigil. Subsequently the intruder again showed up at some distance and was apprehended by an alert BSF party ahead of fence, the officer said.

It would be relevant to mention here that the Pakistani agencies are making regular and desperate attempts to infiltrate militants, intruders with ill-intentions inside Indian territory in order to execute their nefarious designs," the officer said.

 

[Hindustani78]

Srinagar December 14, 2016 12:28 IST
Updated: December 14, 2016 14:57 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ed-in-Kashmir-encounters/article16804365.ece1

Initial reports said the slain militant was identified as Basit Rasool Dar, a student of Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora.
One militant was killed and two others were trapped in two separate gunfights that erupted in north and south Kashmir on Wednesday morning.

An Army spokesman said one militant was killed in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara area of Anantnag district, 60 km away from Srinagar, in the morning. Preliminary reports suggest that hiding militants opened fire at a search party in Bevoora-Hadigam village, Dachnipora belt.

Initial reports suggest the slain militant was identified as Basit Rasool Dar, a student of Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora. Son of a J&K Bank Manager, he was a Bachelor of Technology course student and joined militancy recently.

The killing sparked protests in Bijbehara, Kanelwan, Bewoora and Srigufwara areas of south Kashmir. Dar was a resident of Marhama village of Anantnag district.

Militants trapped in Sopore
In north Kashmir, locals said gunshots were heard in Bomai area of Sopore, Baramulla district, 55 km away from Srinagar. Police officials said they suspect that at least two militants are trapped inside a house in a Bomai village. The village has been cordoned off.

Meanwhile, mobile phone services in parts of Sopore have been suspended.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/586591/146-terrorists-killed-encounter-j.html

New Delhi, Dec 14, 2016, (PTI)

A total of 146 terrorists have been killed in 97 incidents of encounter between militants and the Indian security force in Jammu and Kashmir this year.

Sixty security force personnel were killed in such encounters, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj G Ahir said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

In 97 incidents of encounters in Jammu and Kashmir this year (till December 2), 146 terrorists were killed, 76 terrorists or suspects arrested, while 60 security force personnel were killed and 104 others injured, he said.

In 2015, 102 terrorists were killed and 67 arrested while 39 security personnel were killed and 58 injured in such encounters. In 2014, a total of 107 terrorists were killed and 70 arrested while 26 jawans were killed and 20 injured, the minister said.

In reply to another question, Ahir said a total of 13 fidayeen attacks have taken place on security forces between May 2014 and December 2016, in which 58 security personnel were killed.

Giving more details, Ahir said, seven fidayeen attacks have taken place till December 13 this year, in which 39 security personnel have been killed.

While in 2015, four such attacks took place, in which five jawans were killed, and in 2014, there were two such attacks and 14 security personnel sacrificed their lives in them.

The MoS said there had been six incidents of attack on military establishment in Jammu and Kashmir between November 2014 and 2016, in which 22 terrorists were killed. "Four terrorists were killed in an attack on Kathar Army camp and six in Mahora in Uri in 2014, while in two separate attacks on Army camps in 2015, two militants were killed in Samba and three in Tangdhar. Four militants were killed in an attack on Uri army camp while three in Nagrota camp," he said.

Ahir said there has been a spurt in infiltration bids by the militants from the Pakistan side in Jammu and Kashmir. "This year, till October, there had been 276 bids in which 109 militants successfully managed to enter India. Out of them, 29 militants were killed, 138 returned to Pakistan and two were arrested," he said.

In 2015, 33 militants entered the Indian side in 121 infiltration attempts, 46 were killed, 41 returned and one arrested or surrendered. In 2014, 222 attempts were made in which 65 militants managed to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, out of them 46 were killed and 105 returned to the other side of the border, the minister added.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/586591/146-terrorists-killed-encounter-j.html

New Delhi, Dec 14, 2016, (PTI)

A total of 146 terrorists have been killed in 97 incidents of encounter between militants and the Indian security force in Jammu and Kashmir this year.

Sixty security force personnel were killed in such encounters, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj G Ahir said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

In 97 incidents of encounters in Jammu and Kashmir this year (till December 2), 146 terrorists were killed, 76 terrorists or suspects arrested, while 60 security force personnel were killed and 104 others injured, he said.

In 2015, 102 terrorists were killed and 67 arrested while 39 security personnel were killed and 58 injured in such encounters. In 2014, a total of 107 terrorists were killed and 70 arrested while 26 jawans were killed and 20 injured, the minister said.

In reply to another question, Ahir said a total of 13 fidayeen attacks have taken place on security forces between May 2014 and December 2016, in which 58 security personnel were killed.

Giving more details, Ahir said, seven fidayeen attacks have taken place till December 13 this year, in which 39 security personnel have been killed.

While in 2015, four such attacks took place, in which five jawans were killed, and in 2014, there were two such attacks and 14 security personnel sacrificed their lives in them.

The MoS said there had been six incidents of attack on military establishment in Jammu and Kashmir between November 2014 and 2016, in which 22 terrorists were killed. "Four terrorists were killed in an attack on Kathar Army camp and six in Mahora in Uri in 2014, while in two separate attacks on Army camps in 2015, two militants were killed in Samba and three in Tangdhar. Four militants were killed in an attack on Uri army camp while three in Nagrota camp," he said.

Ahir said there has been a spurt in infiltration bids by the militants from the Pakistan side in Jammu and Kashmir. "This year, till October, there had been 276 bids in which 109 militants successfully managed to enter India. Out of them, 29 militants were killed, 138 returned to Pakistan and two were arrested," he said.

In 2015, 33 militants entered the Indian side in 121 infiltration attempts, 46 were killed, 41 returned and one arrested or surrendered. In 2014, 222 attempts were made in which 65 militants managed to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, out of them 46 were killed and 105 returned to the other side of the border, the minister added.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ternational-Border-seized/article16832658.ece

Special Correspondent
CHANDIGARH December 15, 2016 09:19 IST
Updated: December 15, 2016 12:58 IST


Police have seized a car that was abandoned by its occupants after a chase by people of Pathankot's Pharwal village near the International Border with Pakistan late on Wednesday night.

Police said the car had no number plate.

“The car is being searched. We are also trying to locate its occupants,” SSP Pathankot, Rakesh Kumar Kaushal, told The Hindu.

It was said that the villagers chased it and a few shots were fired by those in the vehicle. The occupants then abandoned the vehicle and escaped.

Police, however, denied that gunshots were fired. "There was no firing from the car. Locals chased the car as they got suspicious of its movement," said Mr. Kaushal.

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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/586771/bank-loot-militants-kashmir-3rd.html
Srinagar, Dec 15, 2016, (PTI)

In the third such incident since demonetisation, a bank was looted in Kashmir today by militants who decamped with Rs 11 lakh.

Police said the militants, whose number was not clear yet, barged into the Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch at Rantipora in Pulwama district.

They looted Rs 11 lakh -- Rs 16,000 in demonetised notes and rest in valid currency, police said.
Soon after the incident, police arrived on the spot but local residents started pelting stones at them, he said.

This is third bank robbery by militants since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 8.

Earlier on December 8, four militants looted a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Arihal in the same Pulwama district and fired several rounds before fleeing with cash.

They decamped with nearly Rs 10 lakh from the bank.

Prior to that on November 21, suspected militants robbed a bank in Chrar-e-Sharief area of central Kashmir's Budgam district, decamping with nearly Rs 13 lakh cash.

The Prime Minister, after announcing demonetisation, had said one of the reasons for the decision was to choke funds to militants.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/587018/commandos-get-training-combat-fidayeens.html
Zulfikar Majid Srinagar,Dec 17, 2016, DHNS
They are presently part of counter-insurgency ops

With fidayeen (suicide) attacks by terrorists on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir, the state police have trained 200 special commandos to specifically deal with such assaults.

The 200 commandos underwent rigorous training by experts of various agencies and former police officers at the Commando Training Centre (CTC) Lethpora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The commandos are currently part of counter-insurgency operations.

“These 200 special commandos are part of the anti-fidayeen squad of the J&K Police. We trained them to deal with the fidayeen, who take shelter in a building or security forces’ camp,” said SSP Mehmood Chaudhary, also the principal of CTC Lethpora.

The officer said that the commandos were also trained to clear the building occupied by the fidayeen, floor by floor.

“We also trained them to climb mountains and cross rivers by swimming and using a rope,” the SSP said, adding that they are also trained to use scientific aid during criminal investigations and collect intelligence from the field.

Since September 2013, the fidayeen have again started to hit defence establishments and other government buildings in the state, a trend similar to 1999-2002.

Sources said that in the recent years, the battle hardened and a lot of militants have sneaked in to carry out the attacks.

“And after every hit, the government’s preparations to ward off such attacks come into question. It was in this backdrop that the need to train special commandos in the police gained momentum,” a source said.

On February 20 this year, nine people, including three elite commandos of the army and two paramilitary personnel, lost their lives after three fidayeen stormed a multi-storey government building on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

In one of the worst causalities suffered by the army in peacetime operations, 19 troopers were killed and 18 injured as a group of fidayeen militants stormed a strategic military base in north Kashmir’s Uri on September 18.

In another deadly attack on November 29, seven soldiers, including two officers, were killed after the fidayeen stormed an army installation in Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu city.

According to official figures, since the Kargil war in 1999, 107 fidayeen attacks were carried out in the state. While 11 such attacks happened during the present NDA government’s rule, 43 strikes were reported under the UPA-I and UPA-II regime. Nearly 53 attacks were carried out during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government’s tenure.

A senior police officer told DH the fidayeen attacks are primarily carried out by militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

 

[Hindustani78]

******
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...rota-attack/story-36A2dAzbX3ljldP4er4fbJ.html

Army sources reveal that the three heavily armed militants used anti-tank rifle grenades to target armoured plated vehicles of the force and CRPF on the fateful day. (HT File Photo)


Even as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probes the November 29 Nagrota attack that left seven soldiers dead, army sources reveal that the three heavily armed militants used anti-tank rifle grenades to target armoured plated vehicles of the force and CRPF on the fateful day.

“The militants used an anti-tank rifle grenade with the help of AK-47 assault rifle. In fact, soon after the protracted operation was over, the army recovered a rich haul of arms and ammunition, including under barrel grenade launchers, anti-tank rifle grenades and an attachment used to mount anti-tank rifle grenade on an AK-47 rifle, from the site of encounter,” said top sources privy to the investigations.

In terrorism-hit Jammu and Kashmir, the army and CRPF rely on armoured plated vehicles during counter-insurgency operations to neutralise militants.

Sources added that the militants, who wore police uniforms, entered the camp from its rear side after climbing the wall with the help of a rope and then cut the barbed fence to gain entry

“While their route of infiltration is still being investigated, in a shift from their strategy, the militants wore police uniforms to dodge check posts on the national highway,” sources said.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW TARGET: Security forces near the bank at Ratnipora in Pulwama that was robbed on Thursday.

Srinagar: December 16, 2016 23:33 IST
Updated: December 17, 2016 02:55 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-ban-robbing-banks-JK-DGP/article16868621.ece

The J&K Police on Friday said demonetisation was “badly affecting militant operation” in the State, as three bank robberies were carried out by suspected militants in the past two months.

“Militants are short of money and are finding way and means to collect it. The bank robbery incidents in Kashmir are purely the fallout of demonetization plan,” Special Director General of Police and Incharge Law and Order S.P. Vaid said.

A day after Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, caught on CCTv footage, looted Rs 9.86 lakh from a Pulwama bank, Mr. Vaid said, "Several measures have been taken to stop it.”

The police have already categorised many bank branches as “hyper-sensitive” after the suspected militants looted over Rs 30 lakh in three robberies since demonetisation was announced on November 8. .

Rifle snatched
A police spokesman said a rifle was snatched when policemen reached the spot of a scuffle between two groups in Budgam’s Makhama area on Friday afternoon.

“As the police restored normalcy, some miscreants started pelting stones. Later, some unknown persons snatched an INSAS rifle and fled,” said the spokesman. The policeman had been injured in the stone pelting incident.

Kashmir witnessed fresh street protests after the Friday prayers. The police said nine- year-old Mursaleen Azad Dar, was hit by a stone in Sopore, Baramulla. Clashes between security forces and protesters were reported from parts of Pulwama, Tral, Baramulla, Bandipora and Sopore.

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ed-in-Pampore-attack-Army/article16895854.ece
Srinagar December 17, 2016 17:11 IST
Updated: December 17, 2016 17:11 IST
Immediately after the firing, the army cordoned off some parts of Pampore to nab the attackers
Three soldiers were killed on Saturday afternoon when militants laid an ambush near Pampore town in south Kashmir.

An Army spokesman confirmed to The Hindu that three soldiers died in the militant ambush on an army convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu highway near Kadlabal in Pampore, Pulwama.

Preliminary reports suggest militants were on a bike when they opened indiscriminate firing on the convoy in the afternoon.

Immediately after the firing, the army cordoned off some parts of Pampore to nab the attackers. Locals told The Hindu that a house-to-house search operation was also conducted by the Army.

This year, the Srinagar-Jammu Highway remained high on the militant target list, as it witnessed five major militants attacks, including three deadly attacks — including fidayeen attacks on the Entrepreneur Development Institute building twice — in Pampore area only.