Major crackdown on Harkat militants

SRINAGAR, April 8: The SOG struck a big blow to the banned Harkat-ul-Ansar’s operations in the capital city when it seized 45 cigarette detonators, which have been recovered for the first time in the Valley, along with eight cyanide-tipped pistol bullets during a 48-hour operation that netted five top militants.

The sustained interrogation of the five Harkat militants has led the SOG to claim that it had solved the murder cases of two BSF jawans, one case of attempted murder and seven of handgrenade-throwing.

The recovery of eight cigarette-detonators, which offer the tactical advantage of secrecy while planting explosives, were effected following the arrest of several militants“For the past few months the Harkat and the Hizbul Mujahideen have formed a tactical alliance wherein the former targets the Army, BSF, CRPF and the SOG while the Hizbul attacks politicians and the local police. The SOG had received information that the group responsible for a spate of grenade attacks and the recent gunning downat point-blank range of a BSF jawan at Nowhatta on March 11, 1998, were operating in the downtown area. The first arrest was that of Manzoor Ahmad Siraj, who was apprehended while carrying two handgrenades in an autorickshaw and the rest followed at his instance,” said SP, SOG, Manohar Singh. An arms and explosives expert told The Indian Express that the value of the 45 cigarette detonators lay in their ability to pass normal security checks.