Anantnag Terror Attack Explained | Policeman Killed | Massive Crackdown Across Kashmir

[00:00:00]A grim reminder that even after months of relative calm, the terror threat in Jammu and Kashmir remains very real. A Jammu and Kashmir police head constable, Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, was shot by terrorists in broad daylight in South Kashmir's Anantnag whilst deployed on the Amarnath Yatra security duty. The attack took place around 12:30 this afternoon sending shockwaves across the valley at a time when one of the country's largest annual pilgrimages is underway under an unprecedented security blanket. The injured policeman was rushed to the hospital but he was declared dead, succumbed to his injuries. What makes this attack that we saw in the afternoon particularly significant is not just the loss of a brave policeman in the line of duty, but it's also the timing here because the Amarnath Yatra has been progressing with massive security deployment, intelligence agencies, the army, the CRPF, and the Jammu and Kashmir police.

[00:00:56]They've all collectively maintained a tight security grid to prevent precisely these kind of attacks. Yet, terrorists managed to strike a policeman on Yatra duty in broad daylight before escaping from the scene. And soon after the attack, security forces they've sealed the entire area. The intelligence grid has been laid out. Reinforcements were rushed in and they've all collectively launched a massive search operation to track down the attackers. We've got a CCTV footage as well from the area that is now being examined whilst investigators are piecing together the sequence of these events. The Resistance Front or TRF, a proxy outfit linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack but it's not been corroborated yet.

[00:01:37]Security agencies are verifying that claim as part of the investigations but that massive and major sweep and manhunt, needless to say, is on. This story, it did not end in Anantnag. Let's tell you in terms of the probe and investigation what all is happening.

[00:01:54]Within hours, security forces widened the crackdown across North Kashmir. You had in support police launched one of the largest preventive operations seen in the recent months. More than 70 suspected overground workers or the OGWs, they were detained for questioning. Similar and simultaneous raids happening in various other localities. We're learning the Shopian police have also detained about a hundred odd people. And house-to-house searches, verification drives, intelligence-led operations, devices that have been recovered to identify any network that may have provided logistical or local support to the terrorists. Officials say the operations are continuing and further searches could follow based on fresh intelligence inputs. Now, the attack has also drawn strong condemnation from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, both of whom described the killing as a cowardly act and assured that those responsible will be brought to justice. But the larger question, however, remains. After a prolonged period of relative calm in the area, does this indicate an attempt by the terror groups to regain operational space yet again? Was this a standalone strike or part of a larger network still operating in the valley?

[00:03:06]And can intelligence-led operations that we've been seeing for so long dismantle these support structures before they strike again and in time?

[00:03:15]Over here.