Top Pak militant arrested; SPO killed in J

Srinagar, Aug 23 (UNI) A top Pakistani militant, arrested by the Army in south Kashmir yesterday, has given some vital clues about the July 11 serial blasts in Mumbai, police sources said.

Elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir, suspected militants killed a Special Police Officer (SPO) and wounded a security force personnel, while troops arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen ultra along with two hand grenades during the past 24 hours, an official spokesman said.

Touhfeen Akmal Hashmi alias Abu Amad, a Pakistani militant and the Al Badr Divisional Commander for Jammu and Udhampur areas, was arrested by troops of 3 Para from Nandmarg forest near Shopian in Kulgam area of south Kashmir at about 0330 hrs yesterday.

The ultra was later handed over to the Kulgam Police.

During interrogation, the sources said Hashmi admitted to knowing the perpetrators of Mumbai serial blasts on July 11 in which about 200 people were killed and more than 800 wounded.

Hashmi revealed that 17 militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were asked to carry out blasts in Mumbai. While 16 ultras returned safe, one might have been killed in the blast, they added.

The militant also claimed to have worked for the Pakistani Army before joining militant cadres, the sources said.

The spokesman said militants hurled a hand grenade towards the camp of BSF's 51 battalion at Town Hall in north Kashmir's Bandipora area at around 1545 hrs this afternoon resulting in injuries to head constable Ramesh Kumar. He has been hospitalised.

He said an encounter took place between militants and security forces at Khair under Banihal police station in Doda district of Jammu region last evening in which SPO Jagdish Singh lost his life.

However, militants managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

Militants shot at and wounded Javed Ahmed Tantray, a farmer, at Turkpora Handwara in frontier Kashmir district of Kupwara last evening. Tantray was admitted to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS), Soura here for treatment, he added.

The spokesman said security forces apprehended a Hizb militant from a fish market at Baramulla in north Kashmir along with two hand grenades last evening.

Security forces during a routine search seized one wireless set, 100 AK rounds, one Pika round, three grenades, one Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and a bottle containing some chemical at Ongarra Picket-Gawala in the Uri sector last evening, he added.

UNI AG MIR RS1824