Terror Strike on Amarnath Yatra Averted: Villagers Help Catch 2 LeT Men, Guv Announces Rs 5 L Reward

In a success for the security forces, the Jammu and Kashmir police, with the help of the local population, on Sunday arrested two most wanted terrorists from Reasi district of Jammu region, averting a major strike on the Amarnath Yatra.

The two ? Talib Hussain of Rajouri and Faisal Ahmed Dar of Pulwama ? were associated with terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and were wanted for various terror-related incidents in Rajouri and South Kashmir.

They were carrying two AL rifles, seven grenades, a pistol and huge quantities of ammunition.

“These two terrorists were on the run for the past several days. Feeling the pressure from the security forces, they had taken shelter at Tucson Dhak area of Reasi. As local people identified them, they caught the duo and informed the police and Army. They subsequently arrested them,” Mukesh Singh, additional director general, Jammu and Kashmir Police told CNN-News18.

Singh said Talib Hussain had carried out three IED blasts in Rajouri earlier this year, besides civilian killings and grenade blasts. Hussain is believed to be the mastermind of the Amarnath Yatra attack plan.

Talib Hussain who ran a news portal has multiple photos and videos with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders. His profile picture from 2018 is ‘I love NaMo’, police added. BJP State President Ravinder Raina told News18 this might be a conspiracy to infiltrate the BJP and attack the leaders.

“Hussain had received a consignment of arms and ammunition, including IEDs and magnetic bombs, from across the Line of Control. He had also received a consignment through drones. With the amount of arms and explosives recovered, it is evident that they were planning a major terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir, so this is definitely a big success for the security forces,” Singh said.

Singh said that two associates of Hussain were arrested last week with a large quantity of arms and ammunition. “We were able to develop leads and chase the duo based on the leads provided by them too.?

Meanwhile, a statement issued by police said: “Today, villagers of Tukson Dhak showed extreme courage in apprehending two most wanted terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba who had reached that area to take shelter after continuous pressure from Police and Army.”

“It is pertinent to note that Rajouri police had very recently recovered a large number of IED and had busted a module of LeT recently in which two terrorists of LeT were arrested and Talib Hussain was declared as an absconder and a reward was announced on him,” it read.

Hussain was in touch with LeT’s Qasim based in Pakistan, said police, adding that both the terrorists were also in touch with a Pakistani LeT handler Salman.

Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha applauded the courage of villagers and said that with this determination, the end of terrorism is not far.

He also announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for the villagers.

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