The officials say that the modus operandi of Thursday's attack points to the involvement of the LeT.
New Delhi:
A report submitted to the government has said that banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the audacious attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, in which 10 people were killed.
The terrorists, dressed in army fatigues, first attacked a police station and then an Army camp. A Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army is among the people killed by them.
Little known Al-Shahada (which means The Martyrs) group has claimed the responsibility for the attack, but security agencies say they aren't taking the claim seriously. "We aren't attaching little credence to the claim," a senior official told NDTV.
Security agencies are basing their claim on the information given by Roshan Lal Sharma, a driver who was forced to commandeer the tempo-truck used by the terrorists to enter Hiranagar police station in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. The driver has reportedly told the investigators that the terrorists were speaking in Urdu-laced Punjabi. "We know for a fact that majority LeT cadres are from Punjab region," an official told NDTV. The driver was shot by the terrorist before they entered the Hiranagar Police station. He is now in a hospital in a critical condition.
The officials say that the modus operandi of Thursday's attack also points to the involvement of the LeT, which carried out two similar attacks in 2008.
In the first attack carried out in March 2008, three LeT terrorist commandeered a tempo, took villagers hostage and as sped through rural Jammu towards the Indian Army Brigade Headquarters in Samba District. Fortunately, the terrorist couldn't locate the place because of green cover, even though they were just a kilometre away from it. In desperation, they killed a local who refused to point them to the Brigade Headquarters alerting the Army.
In August that year, in a similar attack, three terrorists who were tasked to target a Kashmiri Pandit refugee camp in the same area were prevented by an alert milkman and tempo driver whose vehicle had been commandeered by the militants. The tempo driver deliberately crashed the vehicle. In the ensuing chaos the Army was alerted.
Investigations into both the attacks later revealed that the terrorists were members of the LeT.
Moreover, security agencies have also reasoned that the Lashkar has, in the past tried, to disrupt National Highway-1, which connects the Kashmir valley to Jammu and is therefore one of the most crucial road links. "It fits into a pattern that we have seen earlier. Also, weapons recovered from the killed militants - three AK-47 rifles, one pistol, eight grenades and 12 magazines - have the traditional trade mark of the LeT," a senior official said. The LeT is known to carry out spectacular attacks with meticulous training, planning and minimal weapons.
The terrorists, dressed in army fatigues, first attacked a police station and then an Army camp. A Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army is among the people killed by them.
Little known Al-Shahada (which means The Martyrs) group has claimed the responsibility for the attack, but security agencies say they aren't taking the claim seriously. "We aren't attaching little credence to the claim," a senior official told NDTV.
Security agencies are basing their claim on the information given by Roshan Lal Sharma, a driver who was forced to commandeer the tempo-truck used by the terrorists to enter Hiranagar police station in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. The driver has reportedly told the investigators that the terrorists were speaking in Urdu-laced Punjabi. "We know for a fact that majority LeT cadres are from Punjab region," an official told NDTV. The driver was shot by the terrorist before they entered the Hiranagar Police station. He is now in a hospital in a critical condition.
The officials say that the modus operandi of Thursday's attack also points to the involvement of the LeT, which carried out two similar attacks in 2008.
In the first attack carried out in March 2008, three LeT terrorist commandeered a tempo, took villagers hostage and as sped through rural Jammu towards the Indian Army Brigade Headquarters in Samba District. Fortunately, the terrorist couldn't locate the place because of green cover, even though they were just a kilometre away from it. In desperation, they killed a local who refused to point them to the Brigade Headquarters alerting the Army.
In August that year, in a similar attack, three terrorists who were tasked to target a Kashmiri Pandit refugee camp in the same area were prevented by an alert milkman and tempo driver whose vehicle had been commandeered by the militants. The tempo driver deliberately crashed the vehicle. In the ensuing chaos the Army was alerted.
Investigations into both the attacks later revealed that the terrorists were members of the LeT.
Moreover, security agencies have also reasoned that the Lashkar has, in the past tried, to disrupt National Highway-1, which connects the Kashmir valley to Jammu and is therefore one of the most crucial road links. "It fits into a pattern that we have seen earlier. Also, weapons recovered from the killed militants - three AK-47 rifles, one pistol, eight grenades and 12 magazines - have the traditional trade mark of the LeT," a senior official said. The LeT is known to carry out spectacular attacks with meticulous training, planning and minimal weapons.
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