CRPF personnel noticed closely, the uniform of the terrorist and understood that he was not one of them
Highlights
- 3 terrorists broke into a BSF campus near Srinagar in military uniforms
- 1 of them pretended to be a soldier until he was spotted and killed
- 1 soldier was killed and 3 wounded in the attack
One of the three terrorists who broke into a Border Security Force (BSF) campus near the Srinagar airport in military uniforms on Tuesday morning, pretended to be a soldier and fired in the same direction as the security forces until he was spotted and killed, a top officer leading the operation told NDTV.
One soldier was killed and three wounded in the attack on the security camp that shares a boundary wall with an Air Force base and is about 500 metres from Kashmir's main airport.
The first terrorist was killed around 4.15 am, shortly after the group attacked the camp. Two other terrorists ran into two buildings - the administrative block and the officers' mess - and fired from there.
Ravideep Singh Sahi, the Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), said a terrorist came out of the three-story administrative building and took position with the soldiers. "He was wearing a camouflage dress of the CRPF. He was aiming towards the building where our forces were also aiming," the officer told NDTV.
When an officer turned to a soldier to hand over more ammo, they spotted the stranger aiming at the administrative building - a man they hadn't seen before and didn't remember positioning there.
"When our assistant commandant along with his one sub-inspector and one inspector was going to give the ammunition to one of their companions, who was firing from one of the vantage positions, they saw that one man in a CRPF uniform aiming towards the administrative building and thought 'we haven't placed a man there... How come he's there?'"
The officer continued, "They suspected him as they hadn't placed him there. Then he gave them a sign asking them to come forward."
The CRPF personnel noticed his uniform closely and realised that he was not one of them.
"The moment he turned his AK 47, they fired on him and neutralized him then and there," said the CRPF officer.
The three terrorists were killed after nearly 10 hours of gun-battle. Pakistan-based terror group Jaish e Mohammed's "Afzal Guru squad" has claimed the attack.
Mr Sahi said the terrorists were better trained and motivated than attackers in the past.
The Jaish e Mohammed is believed to have sent over two dozen suicide attackers or Fidayeen, who crossed over to India through the Jammu sector in August, sources say.