The Pulwama terror attack, which left at least 40 CRPF jawans dead on 14 February, could have been averted had intelligence officials paid heed to a video that was circulated via the Jammu and Kashmir police two days ago, according to media reports.
Quoting sources, NDTV reported that the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has claimed responsibility for the attack, had released a video online warning of a suicide attack that would be carried out using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as was done on Thursday.
The video, released two days ago, showed an attack in Afghanistan, where a vehicle laden with the explosives was used. The channel quoted sources stating that the video was shared by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Jammu and Kashmir police. Yet, no action was taken.
Terrorist Responsible for Attack Was On Police's Radar
That is not all. The suicide bomber who was behind the attack, Adil Ahmad Dar, had been on the police's radar, a source from the force confirmed to The Print.
According to the report, Dar had joined the JeM when he was a class 11 student, and has been involved in a series of stone-pelting incidents in the valley.
Now accused of carrying out one of the deadliest terrorist attacks the state has ever witnessed, Dar lived just 10 kilometres away from the attack site in Gundibagh.
IED Expert From JeM Infiltrated J&K in Dec 2018, Manhunt On
Further, according to a report on The Print dated 3 January 2019, security forces had launched a manhunt in the state to capture Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, an Afghan war terrorist associated with the JeM, who is also a well-known IED expert.
According to the report, Ghazi had been sent in to "avenge the death" of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar's nephews – Usman and Talha Rasheed – who were killed in 2017 and 2018 respectively by security forces in the valley.
Quoting sources, The Print reported that Ghazi was believed to have entered India on 9 December along with two aides, and was believed to be hiding in Pulwama.
Apart from being an expert in IEDs, he is also among JeM’s main trainers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the report added.
Ghazi is “one of the key trainers across the LoC and his coming here is to impart more training,” a source told The Print, adding that unlike earlier when local recruits would travel to PoK for training, they had now resorted to picking up arms without any prior knowledge or training.
(With inputs from NDTV and The Print)
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