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Local hand suspected in camp attack
Strong suspicion that one of the militants who targeted the CRPF camp at Bemina was a local triggered confusion over which group carried out the suicide attack on Wednesday.
Strong suspicion that one of the militants who targeted the CRPF camp at Bemina was a local triggered confusion over which group carried out the suicide attack on Wednesday.
Within hours of officials in Delhi saying the attack was "probably" the work of Pakistani militants, the Hizbul Mujahideen - a predominantly Kashmiri militant organisation - claimed responsibility.
Later, police sources in Srinagar said one of attackers might be a resident of Palhalan Pattan town in north Kashmir. "His parents have been called to identify the body. It is not immediately known which group he was affiliated to," said an official who did not want to be named.
Local involvement would deal a blow to the state government's claim that militancy is no longer homegrown. The police did not confirm the news.
"We cannot say anything about the identity of the militants," said central Kashmir deputy inspector general of police A Mujtaba. Earlier, Mujtaba had said the attack bore "Lashkar imprint". The Lashkar-e-Taiba is based in Pakistan.
A few hours into the attack, a man who identified himself as Hizb spokesperson Baleguddin spoke to a local news agency and warned of "many more attacks soon". Reports from Delhi said the Hizb later retracted the statement.
