One terrorist was killed and another was caught alive on Wednesday after a convoy of security forces was attacked by a group of terrorists on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Two BSF personnel were killed and 10 others were injured in the attack.
Two other terrorists managed to flee into the forests on hillocks running along the national highway. Three civilians, who were held hostage by the terrorist caught alive, were rescued by the Army.
The terrorist caught alive has been identified as Mohammad Naved, resident of Ghulam Mohammadabad in Pakistan. He says his father's name is Mohammad Yakub. He has two brothers and one sister, one of the brothers runs a hosiery business while the other is a lecturer at JC university in Pakistan.
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The killed terrorist has been identified as Noman alias Nomi. He belongs to Bahawalpur in Pakistan. They infiltrated last night through Tangmarg. Around one and a half months ago also they managed to infiltrate through the same route but could not succeed.
Both terrorists were from Pakistan and came from Tangmarg in Kashmir valley. They had infiltrated from the same route 45 days back, sources said.
The terrorists, wearing Army fatigues, attacked a BSF bus in the convoy at Narsu nullah near Samroli.
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One of the terrorists tried to force entry into the bus, but CRPF jawan Suresh Kumar of 137 Batallion, who was a part of the convoy, gunned him down, sources said.
The terror attack, which comes nine days after the deadly strike on the Dinanagar police station in Punjab, is not new to the highway in the Jammu region.
Terrorists had carried out back-to-back attacks on the Rajbagh police station in Kathua and an Army camp in adjoining Samba district in March 2014. But this attack is unusual as it has occured in an otherwise peaceful Udhampur district after four years.
In May 2011, terrorists blasted the vehicle of a top Army officer belonging to the Northern Command near Birma Pul in Udhampur.
Meanwhile, all vehicles, including those of the Amarnath yatra, were stopped on the highway as news about the terror attack came in.
More reinforcements were rushed to the area to flush out the two terrorists, who fled into the forests.
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, described the attack as a worrysome development. He said it had come after a “very long time” in an area which was “militant-free.”
The Army has floated helpline numbers for general public seeking information about the fleeing terrorists. The numbers are: 01992-243294; 9467800234; 9419166790