The fresh terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir are being seen as a well drawn-out strategy of the terrorist outfits active in the valley, under patronage from Pakistan, to first target the camps of security forces and then scout for 'soft targets' to capitalise on the situation and draw the attention of the government, media and international community.
Such attacks have been a strategy that was successfully employed by the terror groups in the valley in the 1990s-2000. This is something that continues to be used in the valley much to the worry of the security establishment.
“It is the action in the cities and not the one-on-one encounters on the borders that will give mileage to the terror outfits. So they continue to scout for targets like Army camps or camps of Central paramilitary forces,” said K Srinivasan, retired inspector general who has served both in the CRPF and the intelligence wing of the BSF.
“If they manage to enter there, they will engage the security forces; otherwise the attempt is to move to the next target, which are the civilian areas and crowded areas that are 'soft targets' for them. Any civilian casualty will give them an opportunity to malign the security forces and blame them for the killings.''
Barely hours after Saturday's terror strike on the Sunjwan Army camp in Jammu that saw the killing of five security personnel and one civilian, the CRPF troopers on Monday evaded a massive tragedy as two terrorists armed with AK-47s tried to enter a building outside the camp premises of the paramilitary force in Karan Nagar in Srinagar.
An alert CRPF sentry fired when he saw the duo entering the camp and prevented them from proceeding. The CRPF has cordoned off the building and firing is going on as per latest reports. Meanwhile, one CRPF trooper, Mujahid Khan, succumbed to injuries. Efforts are on to evacuate civilians from houses.
Official sources said militants carrying pithu bags and armed with AK-47s were seen approaching the CRPF camp by the sentry in the wee hours on Monday. The militants fled from the spot and the search of the camp periphery is going on. “The CRPF has repulsed the attack very well,'' said Srinivasan.
Security officials in the valley said that the latest attack could be the handiwork of Lashkar or Jaish and did not rule out local support. Sources pointed out that local support of terror outfits in urban areas is a reality and it is far easier for these terror outfits to carry out attacks in 'built up areas' where there is thick population.
“Srinagar has had the worst history of numerous fidayeen attacks,'' an official pointed out.
Meanwhile, security agencies are on their toes as they foresee an increase in such incidents in coming months with overground workers of terror outfits like Jaish and Lashkar becoming active again.
Srinivasan said Pakistan-based terror groups and the ISI are desperate to create trouble in J&K and capitalise on the present situation.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh is meeting the top security brass on Monday to take stock of the situation and make a strong pitch for more intelligence-based operations to flush out the terrorists who are still at large.
