Three days after Thursday's dreaded terror attack in Dera Ki Gali, security forces picked up over two dozen suspects from different villages of Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir for questioning to ascertain the location of the terrorists involved in this incident.
Apart from picking up suspects, over 50 Over Ground Workers (OGWs) are under the scanner of the intelligence agencies for providing logistics to terrorists involved in ambushing two vehicles of the Army in Dera Ki Gali (DKG) on the border of Rajouri and Poonch.
"One thing has become clear terrorists executed Thursday's terror attack with the support of locals so the main task before the security agencies is to single out those sleeper cells", reports quoting sources in the security agencies said and added that over two dozen suspects have been detained for questioning.
While MI helicopters, drones, and sniffer dogs were used in a massive manhunt for the perpetrators of the attack on security personnel, over 50 OGWs are under the scanner of intelligence agencies.
According to sources, the security forces are questioning those who have been apprehended at multiple levels to determine the identity of the terror organization, which is reported to have been active in the area for more than a year and likely includes a sniper as well.
NIA is likely to take up investigation of Poonch attack.
As the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to take over the case, a team led by an officer with the rank of Deputy Inspector General is also camping in Poonch.
Although neither the Army nor the J&K Police have released an official statement, reports have remarked that the inquiry has so far pointed to the involvement of three to four unidentified terrorists who are believed to have utilized 7.62 mm steel-core bullets made in the US.
The forensic science laboratory and bomb disposal teams examined the scene on Friday morning and collected armor-piercing bullets with marks that read '71,' which are believed to have been manufactured in the US.
Highly placed sources said that intelligence agencies are trying to get details of all mobile phones that were active in the area before and after the attack.
As per the initial investigation, terrorists involved in the attack are thought to have lived in the for the last couple of months and had sufficient knowledge of the difficult terrain.
Three to four terrorist organizations are presently operating in the Rajouri and Poonch regions, as per the sources. The attack has been attributed to the banned terror organization People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a front for the Pakistani terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Arms, cash seized near LoC in Akhnoor
A day after the Army foiled an infiltration attempt on the Line of Control (LoC), two drone-dropped packets containing arms and cash were seized in a joint operation by the Army and the police from a village in Akhnoor sector here on Sunday.
The packets, believed to have been dropped by Pakistani drones for subversive activities, were noticed lying in an open field in Channi Dewano village in the Khour area early Sunday morning.
The Army and the police launched a joint operation immediately and the packets were opened with the help of a bomb disposal squad, leading to the recovery of the arms and cash, officials said.
The recovery included a 9 mm Italian-made pistol, three magazines, 30 rounds, three improvised explosive devices, three IED batteries, a hand grenade, and Rs 35,000 in cash.
