Lashkar plot to attack Amarnath convoy foiled

Jammu, July 23: Security forces foiled a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) plot to attack Amarnath convoy between Ramban-Banihal belt on Jammu-Srinagar national highway by scrutinising the documents recovered from the possession of self-styled LeT chief operational commander Khalid-ur-Rehman alias Abu Umair.

A number of important documents, including mobile phone and laptop containing details about Lashkar's activities in the country, were recovered from the possession of Khalid, who was eliminated in a joint operation of Army, Delhi Police and J&K Police at Bhaderwah in Doda district last week, sources said.

Official sources said scrutiny of documents revealed that Khalid, a resident of Bahawalpur in Punjab of Pakistan, had directed his associate Abu Muslim, Lashkar's 'Operations Incharge' for Ramban-Banihal belt to target Amarnath convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway as soon as possible.

''Two suicide bombers (fidayeens) were already at his disposal who had taken shelter somewhere in Nachlana area of Banihal to target the yatri's covoy,'' an official said. Abu Muslim, operating in Banihal-Ramban belt for the last eight months, had sufficient arms and explosives at his disposal, the documents revealed, he added.

Meanwhile, soon after decoding the message from the documents, the security arrangements at Ramban-Banihal belt were intensified on Ramban-Banihal section of the highway to ensure smooth passage of the Amarnath yatra, police sources said.

Khalid's mobile phone number 9906062848, whose calls were monitored and traced by police, which ultimately trapped him in Haveli Mohalla in Bhaderwah, had also given police vital clues about the over ground network of the LeT outfit especially in entire Doda district.

''A vast network of Khalid had been exposed from his mobile handset and SIM card,'' sources said adding that the militant had tried to destroy the handset, SIM and laptop but could not succeed in his attempt.

The search operations had already been launched by army and police to trace the other members of his network, who had been assisting him in carrying out militant activities, sources said, adding that some of them might have gone underground while some others were likely to be arrested.

Mobile phone numbers of several LeT militants including some commanders were also taken out from the mobile phone recovered from Khalid, a senior police officer said. In a bid to overcome the setback suffered by the LeT outfit with the killing of Abu Umair, the LeT has immediately appointed another hardcore Pakistani militant Abu Kasha as new 'divisional commander' of the outfit for entire Doda district, the officer further revealed.

''Kasha was operating in Bhadarwah belt for about last one year and was second-in-command of the outfit after Abu Umair. Kasha had immediately taken over the command of LeT outfit after the killing of Umair,'' he said.

According to army sources, Khalid was putting up in the house of Bashir Ahmed Ganai for more than a week impersonating among the locals as his guest. Every day, he had been attending prayers in the local mosque.

Sources further said besides plotting to target Amarnath yatra, Umair and his associates were also planning to attack crowded areas once again with a series of blasts as done on the eve of Diwali last year. This was the reason that the Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau besides the Army and Doda Police were observing Umair's movement, sources added.

The 32 year-old Lashkar commander, who carried a reward of Rs ten lakh on his head, was the main conspirator of Kulhand and Basantgarh massacres and also masterminded the abortive bid on Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's life in April. He was also responsible for the killing of DSP Shailey Singh during an operation in Bhaderwah area on May 31.

Khalid was also on Delhi Police list after three persons arrested from Dilli Haat, an ethnic shopping hotspot in the national capital, with RDX and ammunition revealed that the militant leader had sent them there to carry out attacks.

Once the main trainer of LeT in Pakistan, Umair started operating in the valley from 1997 and ran a number of training camps in Jammu and Kashmir recruiting youths to the LeT fold.

''Khalid was trained in militant training camps in Khost in Afghanistan and Federally Administrated Traibal Areas (FATA) and Paksitan," Army spokesperson Col DK Badola said.

"Umair was also the coordinator for LeT's Murdekay-based Murkaz-e-Dawaza, fountainhead of the LeT in Pakistan, before infiltrating into India to carry out terrorist activities in India," Col Badola added.

UNI