Srinagar, August 17: Three terrorists who had carried out the terror attack at Kreeri in Baramulla were killed on Monday, said Dilbag Singh Director General of J&K Police. The DGP termed the counter-terror operation as one of the most successful operations against terrorists. These three terrorists were the ones who on Monday morning had fired upon a Naka party and martyred two CRPF jawans and one J&K Police officer.
Dilbag Singh explained that soon after the terrorists launched their strike at Kreeri in Baramulla district killing three security forces personnel, the forces engaged the attackers and killed the three terrorists that included top most Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Sajad Haider, who was operating on the lines of slain Hizbul terrorist commander Burhan Wani to recruit local boys into terrorism.
The DGP added that two other slain terrorists were identified as Anayatullah Mir of Pattan and another was the Lashkar commander from Pakistan Usman.
Addressing a press conference at the Police Control Room in Srinagar, the DGP said that one of the slain militants Sajad Haider alias Raja was one of the top most wanted commanders in J&K.
“He was like Burhan Wani and had joined militancy in the 2016 winters. Like Burhan, Sajad too would lure youth into militancy. We have arrested at least 20 youth who were recruited by Sajad besides many Over Ground Workers (OGWs),” said DGP Singh.
Flanked by IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, DGP Dilbag Singh said that Sajad was involved in a series of “crimes and militancy related incidents that include killing of fruit merchants, security forces personnel, non-local labourers etc.”
Of late, Sajad had started working like slain Hizb terrorist commander Reyaz Naikoo and would release video messages to lure youth and to issue fresh threats to political workers and forces. “His killing is a big success for security forces,” DGP Singh said. He said Sajad had taken along one of his recruits Annayatullah Mir, who joined Lashkar in March this year, to carry out the attack.
“Mir was injured in the first retaliation by one of our Head Constable just a few meters away from the attack spot where three security forces personnel were killed,” DGP Singh said.
He said the third terrorist was identified as Usman, a Pakistani, who was also operating with Sajad in the northern belt of Kashmir. Asked about the sequence of the attack and retaliatory action by the forces, the DGP said that in the morning, terrorists attacked a joint patrolling cum naka party of police and CRPF in which two CRPF men and a SPO were martyred. Just minutes after the attack, special operations group (SoG) of police engaged the terrorists and one was hit just at the bund, a few meters away from the attack site.
He later managed to go inside the orchards. In the meantime, SoG men surrounded the orchards and after they were joined by the Indian Army and CRPF, one terrorist who was sitting on a tree, started firing. First he was killed by the security forces, the DGP said, adding that “it was after him that the injured terrorist was also killed.”
He said as forces kept searching the area, another terrorist fired and he too was engaged and later killed. “In total three militants were killed in the operation that is going on still since morning,” said DGP Dilbag Singh.