A day earlier, as part of efforts to thwart the Pakistan Army's designs to revive terrorism in Jammu-Kashmir, the Indian Army had redeployed troops in the higher reaches of areas south of Pir Panjal to carry out search and destroy operations. As a part of this deployment, over 10 battalions and 500 special forces operatives are stationed there
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A resident of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been apprehended by the Indian Army in Poonch for operating as the Lashkar-e-Taiba's terror group guide, the police told ANI on Friday. The accused has been identified as Zaher Hussein Shah.
A day earlier, as part of efforts to thwart the Pakistan Army's designs to revive terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the security agencies had redeployed troops in the higher reaches of areas south of Pir Panjal to carry out search and destroy operations. As a part of this deployment, more than 10 battalions and 500 special forces operatives have been stationed to tackle the terrorist activities prompted by the Pakistan Army, sources in security agencies told ANI.
Following a surge in the terror attacks in the Union Territory, the Indian Army has moved the troops to carry out searches in the forested areas with a proactive approach to take out terrorists who have been hiding in natural caves and man-made underground hideouts, the sources added.
They said the idea behind the move is to search and locate terrorists at higher reaches and to prevent them from coming down and targeting civilians.
The human intelligence grid has also been strengthened in the area with the induction of new local police officers. The central police forces have also strengthened their presence and activities, the sources said.
The Indian Army and other security agencies have suffered multiple casualties in recent months after terrorists took advantage of the relatively low presence of troops in view of redeployments done for the standoff at the northern borders.
The new inductions in the area, including the armoured vehicles and mine-protected vehicles, have also strengthened the forces, sources said. The security deployment and standard operating procedures in the entire Jammu division, including Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur and Doda districts have been revised, and all troops in the area are on high alert to thwart any terror attack. The recent terror attacks have taken place in the Jammu region.
The local over-ground workers and terrorist sympathisers have also been identified and are being taken care of by the security agencies, said sources.
The security agencies have discovered that some locals in these areas have been aiding terrorists. They have been, accordingly, taking measures to curb such incidents with area domination and other measures, the sources informed.
The top Army brass have also discussed the terror situation in the area recently and have briefed the top leadership on the action being taken by them.
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(With ANI inputs)
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