Twin militant attacks in J&K, six armymen, 4 cops among 12 killed

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Samba terrorists had planned to storm Army Public School, take children hostage

Army Public School in Kathua. The terrorists had multi-vitamins, dry fruits to last 'two-three weeks'

The three terrorists behind the twin attacks in Jammu on September 26 also had plans to storm the Army Public School on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway and, possibly, take schoolchildren hostage.

Police sources said that the terrorists asked Aarif, the driver of the truck they seized at the Hiranagar police station — where they killed four police personnel — to drive them, at gunpoint, to Army Public School in Kathua.

The terrorists were equipped with a GPS device but, sources said, it didn't detect the school's location. "Maybe their connection dropped in that area," a police officer said.

The driver, sources said, "sensed" their intention — to storm the school — and is said to have tried to mislead them saying he didn't know where the school was.

Police sources said the terrorists, who had killed the truck's cleaner, let the driver off and left the truck barely a kilometre from the 16th Cavalry Army camp in Samba which they then stormed.

Samba terrorists had planned to storm Army Public School, take children hostageand three injured in the twin-terror attack.

What lends credence to this, police sources said, is the fact that the Army recovered bottles of US-manufactured liquid multi-vitamins, handcuffs, iron chains and dry-fruits that could have kept the terrorists without food for "at least two to three weeks." All three terrorists were wearing the same brand — Adidas — shoes made in Dubai.

Incidentally, before they reached the police station, the terrorists had stopped at the government Girdhari Lal Dogra Memorial Degree College, barely 200 m from the police station.

They had also asked Roshan Lal, the auto rickshaw driver, to take them to a school in Hiranagar. When contacted, Roshan Lal told The Indian Express: "They wanted me to take them to school. I took them to a college near Hiranagar police station but it had not opened by that time. So we turned back and they asked me to stop near Hiranagar police station".

"Whatever information was there, I have already shared it with the media. There's no more information we can divulge," said Rajesh Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Jammu. Asked about Army Public School being their target, Kumar declined to comment.

He confirmed to The Indian Express that multivitamins, dry-fruits and some iron chains were recovered from the possession of the three terrorists.

The Army Public School is located right next to the base camp of 16th Cavalry of Indian Army. The terrorists entered from the first gate of the base camp on Hiranagar-Jammu stretch on Pathankot-Jammu national highway. The Army Public School is around two kilometres away from that gate.

Immediately after the twin attacks in Jammu, the Army Public School was the first installation to be guarded by the state police force. Security has been since strengthened around the school.

All three terrorists were buried after their blood and DNA samples were taken. Various intelligence agencies have already questioned the truck-driver.

Samba terrorists had planned to storm Army Public School, take children hostage - Indian Express

 

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The three terrorists went from room to room in the 16 Cavalry Officers Mess with military precision, meticulously following the room clearing dill, lobbing two grenades and then a burst of automatic weapon fire, says an internal assessment report prepared after the September 26 Samba strike.

The report that speaks of need to revise standard operating procedures has been accessed exclusively by Headlines Today. The report says even in peace stations like Samba, while some SoPs like buddy system in sentry duty, stopping unidentified personnel at a suitable distance need to be followed in toto, it is more important to revise certain SoPs.

"In some peace stations like Samba, to prevent fratricide there are certain local rules that soldiers don't keep ammunition loaded in their weapons. But in the wake of Samba attack and intelligence alerts about similar plans by terrorists in other peace stations, that rule needs a relook. In some units the rules have already been changed," highly placed sources told Headlines Today. The report also talks of need to better protect schools, hospitals and family quarters from terrorist attacks.

The decoding process of the GPS recovered from the terrorists is underway. Mobile call details are also being assessed. "Strangely there was very little signal and electronic intelligence just before the attack. There was not much 'chatter' but it appears the terrorists were in touch with their handlers in Pakistan through a third country," sources added.

The report also indicates that officers were not at the Mess when the three terrorists struck as some were inspecting weapons drill tasks and others had broken off after morning exercise.

The three terrorists after the Hiranagar police station attack had abandoned their truck almost a kilometre short of the 16 Cavalry location. Since the terrorists were dressed in military fatigues and were armed, they walked unquestioned.

The sentry, Siphai DKK Reddy, at the 16 Cavalry Officers Mess, mistook them to be soldiers from another battalion and did not challenge them as they came close to the sentry bunker. One of the terrorists shot the lone sentry at the gate of the Mess inside the Sentry bunker and then lobbed a grenade inside to ensure the sentry was neutralised.

The three terrorists armed with automatic assault rifles, grenades and commando knife (with Rifaqat and Co, Pakistan marking) following full commando drill went towards the rear of the Officers Mess. They lobbed a grenade in the first room behind the Mess killing Daffadar Inder Singh. The three terrorists then spread out to inflict maximum casualty. Hearing the gunshots, Lt Col Bikramjit Singh, the second in command and some soldiers rushed towards the Quarter Guard (armoury) to retrieve their weapons. As they moved to challenge the terrorists, "the terrorists turned around and pumped bullets into Lt Col Singh (who initially mistook them to be jawans running amok) and the others with him," sources told Headlines Today.

By now the Commanding Officer Col Avin Uthaiah, who had earlier broken off and gone home after the morning PT (physical training) along with the unit QRT (quick reaction team) challenged the terrorists. The terrorists had split up, one was on the first floor of the building, once again lobbing grenades, clearing rooms. He shot at the CO, injuring him in the shoulder and wrist.

The CO then called for the tanks. "He got into the first tank and as one terrorist came out spraying bullets, the CO actually tried to run him down under the tank. The terrorist, however, managed to get into building," sources said. With two terrorists now on top of the Guest Room building, the tanks fired two high explosive rounds, pinning them down. By then the QRT of 2 Sikh, the adjoining battalion also came in, later followed by 9 Para Special Forces commandos who were flown in from near the Headquarters Northern Command and after a fierce firefight killed the three terrorists who the 16 Cav had kept trapped inside the Mess building complex, using five tanks and all available personnel.

Lessons from Samba attack: Need to revise SoPs