Poonch Attack: Role of Battle-hardened, Afghanistan-trained LeT Terrorists Likely, Intel Sources Tell News18

Battle-hardened and possibly Afghanistan-trained terrorist cadres have spread in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Rajouri areas, top intelligence sources told CNN-News18 on Friday. At least four Army personnel lost their lives while three others were injured in a terrorist attack on two military vehicles in this region on Thursday.

The attack was carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the killing style suggests the terrorists have combat experience, the sources said.

A huge number of Pakistan-trained foreign terrorists are present in this area and a few days back Lashkar movement was reported here, they added.

According to the sources, Surankote, Poonch, and Rajouri are overrun with hardened Lashkar terrorists.

The terrorists were on the heights and they ambushed Army vehicles that were in their range, they said.

The terrain in Rajouri and Poonch is very dangerous and terrorists have the advantage of height here, they added.

After pressure from security forces in south Kashmir, all Lashkar base camps have shifted here and they have the advantage of camping facilities and not much dependency on locals for hiding, said the intel sources.

As a majority of the Lashkar cadre in south Kashmir has been neutralised, the terror outfit has sent specialised battle-hardened operatives to Poonch and Rajouri, they said.

In the past year, the sources said, almost 50 security personnel have been killed by these terrorists who are all from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab in Pakistan. They have different footprints than the operatives earlier killed in south Kashmir, have possibly returned from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, and may have been trained in Nangarhar, said the sources.

The tricky terrain in Poonch and Rajouri is very difficult to map and Indian forces need experts in jungle warfare because even after inputs normal personnel can’t operate here, they said.

According to the sources, earlier one or two terrorists would enter a house in the valley and were easy to tackle, but now they are present in large numbers and ready to ambush the forces.

Officials say this is a war-like situation and a new front has been opened by Lashkar to engage its cadre in J&K.