Captured Pak terrorist Usman Khan reveals Amarnath Yatra was his target

Srinagar: The captured Pakistani terrorist, Usman Khan, on Wednesday revealed that the target of his attacks was Amarnath Yatra, adding that the aim was to inflict maximum casualties.

Usman was held after an intense gunbattle in Udhampur on Wednesday when the five men he had held hostage turned on him and captured him.

His accomplice, whom he identified as Momin, was killed in the gunbattle.

India's big catch: LeT terrorist Usman Khan from Pakistan caught alive after intense gunbattle in Udhampur, J&K

Indian security forces registered a major success on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur when they captured a Pakistani terrorist belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba after several hours of intense gunbattle. The arrested terrorist has been identified as Usman Khan and he is a resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan.

Intelligence sources say Usman Khan had infiltrated into India along with at least four other LeT terrorists six days ago. After entering India, the group split into two. While three terrorists attacked Dinanagar in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, the other two including Usman were waiting to strike at another location.

On Wednesday morning, Usman and the other terrorists ambushed a Border Security Force (BSF) convoy in Narsoo in Udhampur, killing two soldiers and injuring eight others. In the ensuing gunbattle, BSF troopers killed one terrorist while Usman fled into the dense forests after taking three people hostage.

Usman was surrounded by a team of BSF and Army soldiers and a brief gunbattle followed after which he was captured. He speaks Urdu and Punjabi.

Intelligence sources say Usman and his group were motivated by Pakistan's Army and its external intelligence agency ISI to launch attacks against India. All the other four terrorists who infiltrated into India have already been gunned down by security forces - three of them by Punjab Police and one by BSF. All of them were fidayeen (suicide attackers).

The group was helped by Pakistani state and non-state actors. They were also provided with a large quantity of ammunition, sophisticated weapons and Global Positioning Systems devices by the Pakistani Army and ISI.

The attacks were carried out with the aim of stopping National Security Advisor level talks between India and Pakistan.