Probe finds Lashkar carried out Poonch strike which killed 5 jawans

Contrary to the claim made by the Jaish-e-Mohammad, investigations have found that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba was behind the Poonch attack in which five soldiers of the Indian Army were killed.

The security agencies are finding it hard to find the seven terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba as they may have escaped through the dense forests. The attack site is 7 kilometres from the Bhimber Ghali at the Line of Control (LoC), which is a thickly forested belt on the Indian side of the LoC. Sources tell OneIndia that this was a well planned attack and the terrorists were aware that post the hit, they would easily escape into the forest area.

The intent, the source said was to create panic and unrest ahead of the G20 meetings slated to be held in Jammu and Kashmir. The investigations have also shown that the Army vehicle was attacked from three sides.

The Intelligence Bureau has learnt that of the seven terrorists, 3 were from Pakistan. They had crossed over from Pakistan and had hidden in the dense forests, the Intelligence had also found.

A senior official said that this is a deliberate attack planned by Pakistan. This has been done to instigate violence in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has been plotting several such strikes since the abrogation of Article 370, which removed the special status granted to J&K.

The third G20 tourism meet is scheduled to be held in the third week of of May in Srinagar. Pakistan has objected to this. Furthermore the attack came on a day when Pakistan had announced that its foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto would be visiting India to attend the summit.

The terrorists used rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles against the Rashtriya Rifle jawans who were travelling in a truck. The initial probe suggests that the truck caught fire due to a direct rocket-propelled grenade hit. The probe is also ascertaining if the terrorists had set the truck ablaze.