Indian security forces on Friday busted a jihad terror cell in the northern state of Kashmir. Indian military and police rounded up six suspected operatives belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-backed Islamic terrorist group.
According to the Indian news reports, police “recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition” from the terror suspects. They were reportedly planning attacks on elected village officials and members of “minority communities,” a reference to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists living in India’s sole Muslim-majority state.
The plot to kill and terrorize village officials in Kashmir comes just weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government rolled out a statewide plan to create “village defense teams” after a series of deadly attacks on Hindus. Indian military is arming and training villagers to defend themselves against future Islamic terror attacks. The terror campaign, which intensified in early 1990s, forced half a million Hindus and Sikhs to leave Muslim-dominated Kashmir region.
“6 Jaish-e-Mohammed Terror Associates Arrested In Kashmir: Cops,” NDTV, February 3, 2023:
In a joint operation with the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested six terrorists associated with the proscribed terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from their possession.
“On the basis of specific information regarding carrying out of subversive activities in Mirhama and Damhal Hanjipora area of Kulgam district, a major breakthrough was achieved by the arrest of six terrorist associates in a joint operation of kulgam police and 9 Rashtriya Rifles and huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered on the instance of the accused,” said Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The security forces recovered a pistol, magazine, 18 rounds, a hand grenade, four UBGL shell, 30 AK 47 rounds, 446 M4 rounds, eight M4 magazines, an AK 47 magazine, an Insas magazine, two mortar shells, a wireless set, four [walkie-talkies] and other incriminating materials.
During preliminary investigation, Police said it surfaced that the terrorists were affiliated with the proscribed terror outfit JeM and were in touch with terror handlers across the border via various social media platforms.
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group, has ideological and operational ties to Al Qaeda and Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. The terrorist outfit was behind the attack on Indian parliament in 2001. At least 5 gunmen wearing suicide vests breached the parliament compound in New Delhi, killing 12 people and injuring 22 others – most of them soldiers and security personnel.
