BSF camp attack in Srinagar: Terrorist in uniform tried to blend with forces, identified

The BSF building targeted by militants Tuesday. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi )

THE ATTACK on the BSF camp near the Srinagar airport on Tuesday could have resulted to more casualties had the troops not identified one of the terrorists in the nick of time.

The third terrorist of the fidayeen squad, wearing combat uniform like the other two, had taken position with the forces and had trained his gun in the same direction as the soldiers. He was even communicating with the forces through signals and perhaps planned to kill them once they moved ahead. It was just that the forces identified the terrorist once they moved closer and killed him.

According to BSF and CRPF, which thwarted the fidayeen squad inside the BSF camp with J&K Police, the three terrorists entered the camp around 4.10 am from a gate adjacent to Gogo village. While one terrorist was killed by a BSF sentry at the gate, the other two entered the camp firing indiscriminately at the forces. One terrorist entered the Subordinate Officers’ mess and the other entered a two-storey building in the administrative block.

The terrorist who entered the mess was killed by the officers inside after a gunbattle, the BSF said.

The third terrorist, however, had to be smoked out of the administrative building. “We were firing rockets and tear gas shells to force him out. It seems he came out unnoticed and took position about 30 yards from the building. He had trained his gun in the same direction, that is towards the building, as that of the forces and so no one noticed him. He even signalled to our troops, positioned behind him, to move ahead. However, when we came closer, we realised he was not one of us. He tried to shoot at us but alert troops killed him. He was perhaps calling the troops ahead to fire from behind and escape,” CRPF IG (Srinagar) Ravideep Singh told The Indian Express.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the forces on the operation. “I have spoken to the DG CRPF and DG BSF. It was a good operation that they have conducted,” he told reporters.

A BSF statement said, “The third militant was restricted to Adm block building. He was forced to flee from Adm block and was neutralised while trying to escape from the Adm Block building near the temple. The combine troops of SOG, CRPF and BSF neutralised the third militant.”

Home Ministry sources said the attack on the BSF’s 182 battalion camp was led by a Jaish-e-Mohammed unit called the Afzal Guru squad. The same squad had carried out an attack in Pulwama in August in which eight security personnel were killed, sources said. Six members of this squad are still in the Valley and may launch another attack, they said.