Chandigarh/New Delhi: Three security personnel and five suspected Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were killed in a nearly-16-hour-long gun battle after a terror attack on an Air Force base in Punjab’s Pathankot district early on Saturday morning. A commando and two other personnel of the IAF were killed in the heavy exchange of fire, along with all the five attackers. At least six securitymen were also injured.
The terrorists, who struck just a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unscheduled visit to Lahore, could not penetrate the defence cordon at the airbase 50 km from the border with Pakistan. Union home minister Rajnath Singh did not rule out the possibility of the involvement of the JeM and said India would hit back hard if there was any terror strike on its soil.
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), mandated to probe terror cases, on Saturday reached Pathankot to gather inputs. In the wake of the attack, Punjab has been put on maximum alert while security measures were also tightened in neighbouring Haryana and the common capital Chandigarh, and in Himachal Pradesh, sources said.
Pakistan condemned the Pathankot attack, saying it would stand by its commitment to partner with India to “eradicate the menace of terrorism”. India is unlikely to take any hasty decision on the continuation of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue with Pakistan given that the political leadership of both countries have invested heavily in it.
After the successful completion of the day-long operation, the IAF on Saturday evening said the security agencies had foiled the “likely plan” of terrorists “to destroy valuable assets” (a reference to the MiG-21 Bison fighters and helicopter gunships believed to be stationed) at its Pathankot airbase in Punjab, even as it confirmed that it had received intelligence inputs in advance that terrorists may try to sneak into the airbase, but the admission has raised questions on why the terrorists could not be prevented from entering the airbase in the first place. The IAF said the presence of the terrorists had been detected through “aerial surveillance platforms” as soon as they entered the airbase.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar and the three service chiefs met national security adviser Ajit Doval at South Block in New Delhi where the Pathankot terror strike was discussed. Measures to strengthen security at vital defence installations and the situation on the borders with Pakistan are also understood to have been discussed.
Sources in the Central security establishment said the attackers were believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan. The terrorists, with a huge quantity of RDX in their possession, made their way to the base from the back where there is a jungle, they said.
Read:
Terrorists used Pakistan number to hire taxi
Enemies of humanity carried out the attack in Pathankot, says Narendra Modi
Anticipating an attack after some armed men abducted a Punjab police superintendent, Salwinder Singh, on Thursday night, a team of NSG commandos had already been rushed here after the NSA held a series of meetings with the Army Chief and top IB officials on Friday. The SP said the armed terrorists were in Army fatigues and so were able to move around the area, probably on foot. The police officer claimed he and his associates had been on their way to a religious shrine in his multi-utility vehicle on Thursday night when they were signalled to stop by the four men. The abducted police officer claimed that one of the men took charge of the vehicle, which had a blue beacon, and drove towards Pathankot. After some distance, the officer was pushed out of the vehicle and the armed men took away his mobile phone. His two companions were also pushed out later. One of the two, Rajesh Kumar, was allegedly attacked by the armed men and his throat was slit. He has been admitted to a hospital in Pathankot.
The terrorists could not penetrate the defence cordon at the airbase as they ran into an effective response from the security forces. The IAF was using two attack helicopters to assist the joint team of ground troops to neutralise the terrorists.
Mr Modi, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Parrikar congratulated the security forces after the successful completion of the day-long operation. The Prime Minister said in Mysuru that the attack was carried out by “enemies of humanity who can’t see India progress”. He expressed pride in the security forces, saying they did not let the terrorists succeed.
“I congratulate our armed forces and other security forces on successfully neutralising all the five terrorists in the Pathankot operation,” Mr Rajnath Singh tweeted after the operation. Sources said Mr Singh tweeted after the receipt of information that the operation was over. Mr Parrikar also “complimented” the security forces for their “swift and effective response” to the “cowardly” terror strike, even as he paid homage to the security personnel martyred in the attack. “My tributes to those martyred (while) thwarting the cowardly attack on the Pathankot airbase. I compliment security forces for their swift and effective response,” the defence minister tweeted.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, who visited Pathankot later in the day, said the Pakistan government should “control” terror activities, asserting that those who had carried out the attack came from across the border.
Terrorists called a cab from Pakistan
Investigators probing the Pathankot attack on Saturday said that the terrorists involved were in regular touch with their Pakistani handlers, who even arranged a taxi for them by calling from a mobile number of that country. Sources said that the terrorists had first used a Toyota Innova on Friday and it has been found that the driver was called from a Pakistan number. Security agencies are questioning the driver and trying to find out whether he (driver) had been offering regular services to Pakistan-based smugglers who have links with the terrorists.
Sources said that the car was used for travelling on an untarred road and dumped after a while as the rim of the vehicle got damaged. The terrorists then hijacked an SUV (Mahindra SUV X500) in which a superintendent of the Punjab police was travelling along with a friend and a cook. The SP and the cook were forced to leave the vehicle while the friend, a jeweller, was taken hostage. The terrorists snatched a mobile phone from them and used it to dial the number in Pakistan which was used to call the driver of the Toyota Innova. From this number, they called their handlers thrice and once a family member who was told that they were on a suicide mission.
Security agencies have found that the handlers were actively giving directions to the terrorists from the Pakistani mobile number. Since the number was under surveillance, security agencies were able to find out the possible target of the terrorists, leading to deploying 160 NSG commandos, Army special forces, besides others.
Meanwhile, it is also suspected that the terrorists might have infiltrated into India during the intervening night of December 30-31 from a spot near Bamiyal village in Pathankot, close to the international border. The terrorists reportedly crossed over near Shakargarh in Pakistan to Bamiyal village and later changed into Army fatigues before kidnapping Salwinder Singh, an SP-rank officer at Kolian village. There were two other occupants in the vehicle. While the terrorists slit the throat of other two, the police officer, who is facing charges of alleged breach of discipline, was released later and the vehicle was abandoned at Tajpur village, 2 km from the Pathankot airbase. One of the militants is alleged to have used the phone of the jeweller, who is undergoing treatment in a hospital, to make a call to Bhawalpur in Pakistan which was intercepted by intelligence agencies.
