Police have recovered a diary and a mobile phone belonging to militants who attacked soldiers returning from a combing operation in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
The phone and diary yielded reference to three local militants and a number of overground workers who had helped militants in reaching the spot and carry out the attack, Shopian superintendent of police, Tahir Khan told Hindustan Times on Friday.
“Abbas, Ishfaq Ahmed Thokar and Giyas-ul-Islam are the names we have found. We have also found some other links which establish that these three are behind the attack,” Khan said.
The ambush by the militants had killed a civilian driver and injured three soldiers. The hunt for the militants is on, police said.
Meanwhile, the local media said hundreds of people attended the funeral prayers of the civilian driver Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, who was driving the private vehicle hired by the Army. Sheikh was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Kachdoora, Shopian.
Following intelligence inputs about the presence of militants, the cordon and search operation was started in Shopian early Thursday morning.
{{/usCountry}}Following intelligence inputs about the presence of militants, the cordon and search operation was started in Shopian early Thursday morning.
{{/usCountry}}Reports said that as troops were returning after a 12-hour search operation in Shopian and carrying out a “reverse sweep” of Chowdari Gund and Kellar area of Shopian, militants attacked them.
‘Reverse sweep’ is a term used by the Army in which they carry out a surprise check of a location after having combed it earlier in the day.
The operation, for many Kashmiris, brought back memories of the 1990s when such massive door-to-door searches were common in the Valley. Some locals had alleged vandalism by forces during the search, but police denied it.