The security establishment is probing a two-point breach, which lead to the execution of one of the deadliest suicide attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. First one is at the Line of Control (LoC) at Uri and the second at the perimeter of the Army base that saw the fencing wire being cut. These two lapses helped suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) fidayeen access the heavily-guarded army camp in Uri and claimed the lives of 17 soldiers.
The possibility that those on sentry duty were not sufficiently alert is learnt to have figured in the review meeting called by home minister Rajnath Singh, with the attendees considering it a serious lapse in view of the lesson from Pathankot, where a fidayeen squad of Jaish infiltrated the strategically crucial air base, and because of Pakistan’s attempt to cause upheaval in J&K.
According to TOI sources in intelligence agencies said that JeM was identified as the perpetrator of the Uri attack after a representative of the terror outfit called up a local journalist in Kashmir to claim responsibility. Incidentally, Jaish had also emerged as the outfit behind the Pathankot attack but it did not claim responsibility for the same.
“As per preliminary inputs, the suspected Jaish terrorists seem to have followed their usual modus operandi of infiltrating from across Pakistan the night before the attack and heading straight for the target. We suspect that the four Jaish fidayeen crossed the LoC at Uri, which lies not too far from the Army base, late on Saturday nightand were at the base in time for an early morning strike,” a top functionary of the intelligence establishment said.
Agencies on Sunday pointed to a recce of the administrative base and did not rule out help from a ‘mole’ or overground worker in alerting the Jaish masterminds to troop positions within the camp, thus helping the fidayeen maximise casualties. “A recce was done. The terrorists were aware of the layout of the camp and knew their way around. They had possibly identified the stretches where the fence was not properly manned and accordingly found a safe spot to cut the perimeter wire,” said an officer.
“All possible lapses on part of the Army, which was in charge of guarding both the LoC and base perimeter, are subjects of a detailed enquiry,” he added.
“For now, the writing on the wall is clear: Infiltration has gone up significantly this year as compared to last year, with estimates putting the total cases so far at 100. In the days to come, both infiltration and terrorism will see a further spike,” warned an intelligence officer.
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Sourced from TOI, Featured image courtesy: www.ndtv.com
