2 Al-Qaeda supporters arrested

Two supporters of the Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind were apprehended by the police in J&K on Saturday, while six other terrorist supporters were counselled to resume normal life.

A semblance of normalcy returned in the Valley after six days.

A police official said Rafiq Ahmad Dar of Awantipora, a member of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, was apprehended in Pulwama. “One hand grenade, which he was about to lob upon security forces, was also seized,” the official said.

According to the police, he helped identify the group’s another supporter, Abid Majeed Shiekh, alias Raj Gada, of Dadsara.

In a separate initiative of the police, six youths were handed over to their families after counselling, in south Kashmir.