Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday claimed that the terror plot in last week’s Poonch ambush has been uncovered and six locals have been arrested for sheltering the terrorists before they carried out the attack on an army vehicle using explosives and weapons that came from Pakistan through drones.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said the April 20 attack in which five soldiers were killed was a well-planned one and executed by three to five terrorists. They first did a recce of the area, understood the terrain and then chose the spot of attack.

He said over 200 people have being questioned till now and the operation to neutralise the terrorists involved in the attack is on.

Meanwhile, the massive cordon and search operation, backed by drones, metal detectors and sniffer dogs entered the ninth day.

Officials said the Pakistan-based terrorists used Chinese-made steel-core armour-piercing bullets in the ambush.

Talking to reporters during a visit to Rajouri district, Singh said, “Six persons (of a module) have been arrested. They include those who have provided material (weapons, ammunition, explosives) to the terrorists besides shelter and food and guided them from one to another place.”

“We are getting clues during questioning. We are working on that,” he said.

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Singh, who visited Darhal and remote Budh Khanari area in the foothills of snow-covered Pir Panjal mountains, also said that such incidents are not possible without local support.

“One full module in this has been caught. They were giving them support for past two to three months. A local named Nisar and his family were providing all support from food to shelter. The material (explosives) had come from Pakistan through drone. They picked up the weapons and provided them to the terrorists. Weapons, grenades and ammunition explosives were included in that,” he said.

He added that security forces are identifying more local support.

“They will be working on it strongly. The terrorists choose places close to forests, where they get local support and also have escape route into forests,” he said.

Giving further details about the module, Singh said Nisar has been a terrorist for a long time.

“He was working as OGW of Pakistan origin LeT commander in the 1990s. He was under our radar. We had picked him two to three times in the past for interrogation. He was in our list of suspects and was picked this time too,” he said.

“When interrogated, we found he was fully involved along with other family members,” the DGP said.

On the modus operandi, he said that the terrorists first did recce of area, understood the terrain and considered aspects like speed of the vehicle to come down to zero in view of downhill terrains and sharp turn at the place of attack.

“They came close and ambushed the vehicle. Then they fired on the vehicle which got damaged. The troops got injured. They planted an IED, set it afire and exploded it,” he said.

Singh said there is floating population of terrorists coming from Pakistan.

“They remain here for several months. They do recce and such acts. We have neutralised several of them also in the past. Two to four such terrorists remain active during a period of time,” he said.

According to Singh there are 10 to 12 such elements operating in the area.

On the use of Chinese steel core ammunition, he said that it was used in the Dhangri incident too.

“The terrorists come better prepared for such attacks,” he said.

“The massive search and combing operations are going on at 12 to 13 places in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. In large areas of Bhata Dhurian-Tota Gali and neighbouring areas, hunt for the terrorists is on for ninth day today,” an official said.

Special force NSG is also engaged in the operation, the officials said, adding large chunk of forests, deep gorges and natural caves have been searched.

The operation is backed by drones, sniffer dogs and metal detectors, they said.

The terrorists used the armour-piercing ‘7.62 mm’ bullets had a marking that read ’71’, ’75’, ’88’, which have been made in a ammunition factory inside China, officials said.

Northern Army commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi and DGP Singh visited in areas in Rajouri-Poonch twice during last nine days to review operational preparedness and took stock of ongoing operations. Director generals of CRPF and BSF also visited the area.

Sources said that a two group of 7 to 8 terrorists are believed to have engineered the attack.

According to the investigation, the terrorists hid themselves in a culvert on the road stretch before attacking the vehicle. Over 50 bullet marks have been found on the vehicle that shows the intensity of the firing by terrorists, the sources said.

The troops involved in the operation are exercising utmost caution as the terrorists may have planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the densely forested area with deep gorges and caves, they added.

The truck that came under attack was carrying fruits, vegetables and other items to Sangiote village from the Bhimber Gali camp for Iftar to be organised by the Rashtriya Rifles at 7 pm that day, the officials said.

The slain soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.

Officials said a sniper is believed to have targeted the vehicle from the front before his associates showered bullets and lobbed grenades on it from opposite sides, apparently giving the troops no time to retaliate.

Before fleeing, the terrorists stole the soldiers’ arms and ammunition, they added.

Read more: Poonch attack: 12 detained; Drones, sniffer dogs, MI chopper used in massive manhunt for terrorists