In the 70-second call, made sometime this afternoon, the man could be heard saying that he was out on a "suicide mission", sources told NDTV. (AP photo)
Hours before the Pathankot terror attack started, security agencies intercepted a call that sent chills down many a spine: A call from a terrorist to his mother.
In the 70-second call, made at 1:58 AM, the man could be heard saying that he was out on a "suicide mission", sources told NDTV. Silence from the other end. Then he repeated, "I'm on a suicide mission and Allah will take care of all of us," sources said.
In less than two hours, shots rang out at the Pathankot air base. The 10-hour gun-battle that followed claimed the lives of three Air Force Personnel. Four terrorists have been killed.
The intercepted calls - made to undisclosed locations in Pakistan between 12.30 am and 2.00 am - are still being decoded. The callers spoke in Punjabi and Multani, sources have told NDTV.
One of the calls -- the longest of the four -- hinted at stocktaking by handlers, sources said.
In the 87-second call, the purported handlers could be heard asking, "Control mein hai (Is it under control?)". The reply was "haan (yes)".
The terrorist was then asked to enter the target area. "Airforce assets, choppers aur planes ko uda do (blow up the airforce assets, choopers and planes)".
The security agencies are puzzling over a line: "Use samjhao, hame fikr hai (Explain it to him. We are concerned)".
The first call, nearly one minute long, was made shortly after midnight in which three people took turns speaking with the caller from this side of the border. The location where this call was received remains undisclosed.
In the second call, made around 12.52 am, a person suspected to be one of the handlers of the terrorists who carried out today's attack gave instructions to two terrorists one after another. He was brief. The call lasted 32 seconds.