More bomb blasts, less fidayeen hits: Lashkar’s new mantra in Kashmir

There was a terror attack in Shopian earlier today in which three Army personnel were injured. The explosion took place between the Sugan and Chillapora area in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

It has now been ascertained that this was the handiwork of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and what is even more worrying is that the outfit which was looking for an IED expert has found one.

The bomb maker has been identified as Umar Hanzulla, a local operative who was roped in by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to prepare bombs. The outfit has been on the lookout for a bomb expert in the wake of the group suffering several casualties in the recent past. The keen interest in finding a bomb maker is also an indication, that the group would reduce fedayeen strikes for now and concentrate on explosions at Army installations.

In today's attack, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives triggered an IED blast at 7.50 am. The target was the Casper vehicle of the Indian Army's 44 RR. The bomb was timed to explode at the time the vehicle was passing through the area.

Hanzulla according to sources is an expert at preparing bombs. Intelligence Bureau officials say that he hails from Shopian district and was trained in Pakistan about a year back. He uses ordinary items such as cans, pressure cookers etc to prepare the bombs.

He has been placed on the wanted list and nabbing him is of primary importance for the security forces. Currently is the only expert that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has in the Valley and the agencies would look to nab him before he imparts training to others.

The Lashkar-e-Tayiba according to the Intelligence Bureau would increase bomb attacks. This is a turn away from the fedayeen strikes and bomb attacks involve an element of surprise. Moreover the casualty rate in bomb attacks for the terrorists is lower as they just plant the bomb and flee. Such attacks also keep the security forces on tenter-hooks all the time.