Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad’s affiliate Al Umar Mujahideen on Wednesday carried out a major attack killing five CRPF personnel and injuring four other security men about a fortnight before the Amarnath Yatra in Anantnag district, also the base area for the pilgrimage to the cave shrine.
Counter-terrorism expert Dr Rituraj Mate said, “Through the attack, the terrorists have sought to deliver a strong message that the Amarnath Yatra would be target in the coming days. The attack could also be a signal to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that his strong leadership would not go unchallenged in so far as terror attacks in the Valley are concerned.”
The security forces should deploy more pickets in the area to check terror hits from motor-cycle-borne terrorists as the terrain is suitable for the terrorists to use two-wheelers for targeting the forces and flee from the crime scene, Mate said, adding either the local militants should be weaned away from the terror fold or eliminated in strong security action.
The attack could also be aimed at testing the reaction from the security forces under Shah’s leadership, he added. The location of the attack is the base area for Amarnath Yatra and the major hit comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed preparations for the Amarnath Yatra that is beginning on July 1.
