With grenade blasts in crowded places and firing from a distance — also called stand-off attacks — at the Army camps being the new tactics of the terrorists, they have cast a shadow on the forthcoming annual Amarnath Yatra commencing last week of June. The security establishment doesn’t rule out the possibility of terrorists resorting to throwing grenades and firing during the nearly 60-day long yatra too.
While stand-off attacks can be effectively dealt with by returning concentrated volley of fire at the perpetrators, it is difficult to counter the threat posed by lobbying of grenades as collateral damage is feared.
Engineered by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), at least 18 grenade attacks have taken place in the last fortnight leaving more than 25 injured, including civilians and security personnel, in the summer capital Srinagar and towns of restive South Kashmir. Two soldiers have died in the same period after getting hit in the shoot and scoot fire in three different attacks on three camps. Terrorists, however, managed to escape in all these incidents.
Alarmed over the new trend, security forces are bracing for possibility of the JeM joining hands with another Pakistan-based terror group lashkar-e-Tayyebba (leT) to target the Amarnath Yatra starting June 28, officials said.
Apart from throwing grenades on pilgrims and security personnel, the two groups may also try to use improvised explosive devices (IED) along the yatra route, they said. Incidentally, an IED was used last week to blow up an Army vehicle in North Kashmir. However, all the occupants escaped with minor injuries.
These apprehensions in the security establishment come in the backdrop of reports that the Central Government may extend the ceasefire in the State. The month-long halting of anti-terrorist operations during the holy month of Ramzan came into force on May 17. Reports suggest the ceasefire may be extended after the tenure of cessation of operations ends on June 16 or 17, after Eid.
Elaborating upon the new trend of grenade blasts, local police authorities suspect the role of JeM cadre behind a majority of the incidents. Sources said the JeM cadre have been distributed large quantities of grenades to escalate levels of violence by targeting security personnel. The role of over-ground workers helping young recruits carrying out these grenade attacks cannot be ruled out completely. Intelligence agencies in Kashmir Valley are also maintaining a high alert ever since they came across reports of infiltration of JeM cadre in the Valley via Poonch.
The Army will deploy two battalions (one battalion has 1,000 soldiers) to provide security cover to the yatra. While one battalion will look after the northern route from Baltal to the shrine, the other battalion will provide security umbrella to the southern route through Pahalgam. Besides these two battalions, nearly 200 additional companies (one company has 100 personnel) of Central para-military forces will be also deployed all along the 400-km pilgrimage route as part of three-tier security grid.
The prime task of security forces is to sanitise and secure the 400-km highway, starting from lakhanpur, the gateway on the Jammu & Kashmir-Punjab border, to the shrine.
Equally daunting is the task of protecting dozens of make-shift ‘langars’ (community kitchens) and night camps for pilgrims along the yatra route.
During the recent security review meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Srinagar, it was decided to install tracking system for all registered yatri vehicles, drones at base camps, twin yatra tracks, sophisticated electronic gadgetry and various other hi-tech systems to monitor the entire yatra from lakhanpur to Amarnath shrine, located at a height of 5,486 meters from the sea level, in South Kashmir district of Anantnag.
At least seven pilgrims returning from the Amarnath shrine were killed on July 11, 2017 after terrorists opened fire on their bus and a security vehicle. The attack occurred at Batengoo when the pilgrims were returning from Baltal, one of the base camps of the pilgrimage, to Jammu.