New Delhi: About 40 terrorists, mostly from Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), believed to be battle-hardened in Afghanistan fighting alongside the Taliban against the US, have managed to infiltrate into the Jammu region over the last one year, ThePrint has learnt.
It is these terrorists, armed with American M4 rifles, night vision sights and telescopic lenses, and encrypted radio sets, who split into smaller groups of 3-5 each and have unleashed a terror mayhem after having taken time to understand the terrain and deployment patterns of the security forces.
Sources in the defence and security establishment admitted that they were taken by surprise with these infiltrations which they suspected happened from the International Border in Punjab, Jammu, besides the Line of Control (LoC) under the Nagrota-based 16 Corps.
However, both the BSF and the Army, which man the IB and the LoC respectively, deny any kind of infiltration from their areas.
“Whatever one may say, the fact is that about 40 terrorists, who claim to be Kashmir Tigers but are actually JeM and some Lashkar-e-Toiba, have managed to infiltrate in the last one year into the Jammu region. This infiltration has happened from both the IB and the LoC. The agencies concerned could not pre-empt this infiltration and it is a failure,” one of the sources told ThePrint.
The source admitted that all forces are working in coordination and an action plan is being chalked out to bring back normalcy to the region that had remained peaceful for over 15 years. “We will get them (terrorists). It may take some time but we will get them,” the source said.
The sources said that over the last few years, Pakistan was sending over drugs and weapons through drones. They added that while the BSF did manage to seize some, including M4 rifles being dropped by drone in Kathua, agencies failed to read into the larger game plan.
They pointed out that what is caught is always just a fraction of what actually makes through.
They believe that not all terrorists infiltrated with their weapons, ammunition and other fighting material and that these were handed over once they reached their destination in the overall Jammu region.
An intelligence vacuum, lack of counter ambush tactics, along with thinned out deployment of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) units over the years besides dual Command issues along with the need to project normalcy seem to be the main reasons behind the terror surge in Jammu region.
It is also felt that years of peace brought in a sense of complacency among all stakeholders.
The terrorists have managed to cause the death of at least 51 security personnel in the Jammu region since 2021 with increasing barbarity and frequency.
ThePrint spoke to multiple sources in the Army, police and the intelligence agencies to understand what went wrong on the ground in Jammu that has seen terrorists managing to choose the time and place of their operations.
The brazenness of terrorists can be seen in the ambushes that they have carried out even against elite Para SF soldiers, most of which have been caught through body cameras and cell phones.
The sources said it seems that the terrorists initially spent their time mapping the hilly and heavily forested terrain which is now helping them to move and operate with ease.
Not Pak Army regulars or retired but non-fidayeen terrorists
About 20-25 terrorists are believed to be operating in the Rajouri-Poonch area while about 15-20 are operating Doda-Bhaderwah region.
Asked whether is a possibility of either serving or retired Pakistan Army commandoes were also operating, sources in the security establishment ruled out such a scenario.
“No regular Army soldier or commando can operate for such a long time in the region. They can undertake a specific job and recce for a few days but not like this. At maximum, you have one- two retired Pakistan Army personnel but not regulars for sure. These are all terrorists who are well-trained and have fighting experience,” the source mentioned above said.
The confusion on the exact identity of the terrorists is because of the way they are operating.
Unlike regular terrorists who engage with forces for long gunfights, mostly till their death, or launch audacious fidayeen attacks on camps, the groups operating in the region are using military tactics, which means that they are very well-trained and have battle experience. The sources said that this indicated that the terrorists might have gained the experience in Afghanistan where JeM cadres fought alongside the Taliban.
“They have a good understanding of the region and also the deployment patterns. They have managed to draw the soldiers in through fake intel alerts and have set up ambushes. Unlike regular terrorists who open burst fires, these are very pin-pointed controlled firing with constant change in position,” a second source said.
“After causing the initial casualty, they are not staying back to challenge the second layer of forces coming in. They withdraw tactically.”
Another source said that the terrorists are not fidayeens (on a death mission) and have come prepared to stay put for long.
In the Kathua ambush wherein an Army convoy of two vehicles belonging to the 9 Corps under the Western Command was targeted, the sources said there were two teams of terrorists.
“One team fired at the front vehicle from a distance of about 100 metres, the other team opened fire at the second truck from a distance of about 200 metres. They took out the soldier sitting next to the driver with a head shot using an M4. This means they are sharpshooters and have used a telescopic lens,” a third source said.
In one of the encounters, the security forces recovered an M4 rifle with night sights which was connected to a taped power bank to give it continuous charge as and when needed.
“These night sights ensure that they are able to see in the dark. And the way they have taped the power bank to the rifle shows they are innovative as well. We were surprised to see it actually works,” a fourth source said.
Thinning down deployment, multiple commands & ‘peace’
Sources explained that reason for the resurgence of terrorism is because there has been thinning out of regular battalions of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) as peace prevailed in the region.
The last major operation was ‘Sar Vinash’ undertaken in Hikaka forests above Surankot which led to the killing of several terrorists in 2003.
By 2009, peace had largely been restored in the Jammu region and action shifted to Kashmir. To bolster the numbers in Kashmir, a few RR battalions operating in the hinterland of Jammu region were moved there.
Along with this, when the 9 Corps under the Western Command was raised, the Jammu region was split. Till then the 16 Corps was in charge of the areas till Pathankot. With this division, the areas of Kathua, Samba fell under the Western Command which did not have a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism mandate.
“The areas were peaceful. That is why the 9 Corps vehicles that came under attack in Kathua were moving without any road opening party,” one of the sources mentioned above pointed out.
The sources pointed out that it seems the terrorists have also gamed the deployment patterns and are hence able to move freely from one sector to another.
As part of the beef up, the Army has pumped in nearly a Division (12,000 troops) strength into the Jammu region from the reserves of the Northern Command as well as the Western Command.
Another major thinning out happened in 2020 when the Uniform Force, a RR formation, was moved out from the Reasi area to Eastern Ladakh following the Galwan clash, as first reported by ThePrint.
However, the sources said that Uniform Force headquarters along with a Sector Headquarters and three Battalions had moved out. The Uniform Force then had about 9-10 battalions and the remaining ones were distributed between the Romeo and Delta Forces.
This meant that the area of responsibility of each formation increased which led to them being overstretched.
The sources pointed out that there have been some cases in the recent past where the troops could not reach a spot in time even when there was specific intelligence of terrorists holed up because of terrain and other issues.
Another big reason that the officials that ThePrint spoke to said was the complacency that had crept into the troops, intelligence and the police because of the long spell of peace. This meant that the traditional intel gathering mechanism was left and the focus was more on law and order issues.
The sources said that too much reliance on tech intelligence through tapping of mobile phones has also become an issue because human intelligence has taken a back seat. The terrorists now operating in the region are not using mobile phones, but encrypted radio and satellite phones.
The traditional information providers were the Gujjars and Bakarwals who kept moving with their flocks through the dense forested terrain and heights.
A former Army Commander said he has spoken to some of them who are upset with the ST status given to pahadis in 2022 and the trouble they have faced from the security forces whenever they voluntarily inform them about terrorists coming to their house for food.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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