The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday conducted raids at 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the recovery of two Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) on June 6 and the arrest of a Lashkar-e-Mustafa militant Hidayatullah early this year.
Sources said the raids were carried out in Shopian and Anantnag districts in Kashmir division and Ramban and Jammu in Jammu division.
IEDs have of late become a major threat to the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The security forces, however, have succeeded in preventing major attacks due to timely detection and intelligence about the IEDs planted by militants.
The raids coincided with a timely detection of an IED in the border district of Rajouri on Saturday morning. The IED, as per reports, was hidden under a culvert at Batooni-Dilogra on Jammu-Rajouri national highway. The IED was defused by the bomb disposal squad of the Army.
The traffic remained suspended on the vital road for over three hours after the IED was detected by the Road Opening Party (ROP) of the security forces. It is believed that the IED was planted during the intervening night. A search operation was launched to find the culprit involved in the act.
