At the start of the last week of December 2017, an alert was sounded throughout Kashmir about a possible Fidayeen attack on New Year’s Eve along the Srinagar-Jammu highway.
Days later, as feared by the security agencies, militants from the Jaish-e-Mohammad managed to sneak into a CRPF camp inside Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Commando Training Centre (CTC) in Lethpora, Pulwama.
In a 36-hour fierce gunbattle that started on the night of December 30, five CRPF personnel and two Jaish militants were killed.
Earlier this year, different militants groups operating in Kashmir targeted the highway stretch frequently. This time, however, heavy security was deployed along the stretch after the input.
In a press statement on Sunday, Director General of Police (DGP) SP Vaid acknowledged that there were prior “inputs” regarding the attack.
“There was an input in the last two to three days. The militants were trying. They probably could not get a place and time earlier. So they struck last night,” Vaid said at a press briefing in Srinagar.
Speaking to News18, a senior police officer who deals with counter-insurgency operations in South Kashmir confirmed the intel of a possible Fidayeen attack. "At least 12 hours before the attack, Jammu Kashmir police shared specific Intel about two Jaish militants who could attack the training," the officer said on condition of anonymity.
The Local ‘Fidayeen’
Apart from the grave security lapse, what also makes this daring pre-dawn attack by the Jaish all the more serious is that this was the first Fidayeen attack carried out by local militants in the recent history of militancy in Kashmir. The militants were identified as Manzoor Ahmad Baba of Drubgam Pulwama and Fardeen Ahmad Khanday of Nazneen Pora, Tral. Fardeen was the son of a police constable.
Hours after the gunbattle, a video surfaced in Kashmir showing Fardeen, with a huge cache of ammunition in front of him, asking other Kashmiris to “join the fight against Indian aggression”.
“By the time this video reaches you, I’ll be in heaven,” Fardeen said in the video, thus making his plans clear.
The video was allegedly shot moments before the attack.
In the video, Fardeen also referred to Afaq and Bilal – two Jaish militants who had carried out two different suicide attacks in early 2000. While Bilal was a British Muslim student, Afaq Shah was a local.
Bilal had staged a car bomb explosion at an army unit in Srinagar on Christmas Day in 2000, killing 11 people, including five soldiers.
Hailing from Srinagar's Khaniyar locality, Afaq had driven a stolen red Maruti — laden with explosives — to the high-security barrier of the Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar on December 27, 2000, and blown the vehicle up with him still in it. Eleven personnel had died in the attack.
Apart from Afaq, Mohammad Aslam, a J&K SPO (Special Protection Officer), was one of three other Fidayeen who attacked the Special Operation Group (SOG) complex in Srinagar on December 27, 2000, in which 11 personnel died. An SPO who deserted the ranks, Aslam came back to attack the very force he had been part of.
The Rise of ‘Afzal Guru Squad’
Saturday night’s attack was not the first Fidayeen strike carried out in Kashmir this year. There were two others before this one.
On August 26, militants stormed the District Police Lines in Pulwama, killing 10 people — four policemen, four CRPF personnel and two militants. On October 3, militants stormed a BSF base at Srinagar airport, killing one jawan and injuring three. Two militants were also killed in the attack.
The ‘Afzal Guru Squad’ of the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit carried out both Fidayeen attacks.
Barely 90 Days Into the Fold
Another important detail of Saturday’s attack is that both Fardeen and Manzoor were recruited into militancy barely 90 days ago.
Sixteen-year-old Fardeen Ahmad Khanday was a Class 10 student and became a militant three months ago. The other one was Manzoor Baba (22), who hailed from Drubgam area of Pulwama district. A driver by profession, he had become a militant just two months ago.
Hours after the gunbattle, Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening that “such attacks will continue till the last Indian soldier leaves Kashmir.”
“Blood of martyrs is yielding results,” local news agency GNS quoted this Jaish statement.
How Well Did ‘Operation All Out’ Fare?
The security failure despite intelligence of such an attack also puts a question mark over claims by security agencies in Kashmir on ‘Operation All Out’.
The announcement of ‘Operation All Out’ by the Army in June 2017 has so far resulted in the killing of 219 militants, the highest in the last eight years. Among the 219 militants, 84 were local militants who were from different parts of the Valley.
While many security officials are claiming the operation to be a huge success, what could be a major worry for security forces is that the year also witnessed the killing of 124 armed forces personnel, which makes the ratio of militant to armed forces killings 2:1.
The Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in its annual report said: “The comparison between militant and armed forces killings in last four years reveals that while 560 militants have been killed in the given period, the armed forces have lost 364 personnel to militant violence. The ratio of militant-armed forces killings has been close to 2:1 for the last four years.”
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