| After Anantnag terror attack, CRPF may change J&K deployment drill | | |
Jammu , June 14
The terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) contingent that killed five security personnel in Anantnag on June 12 appeared to have been carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, people aware of the investigations said on Thursday, adding that the deployment process of the force could undergo a major change to bolster the security apparatus in Jammu & Kashmir.
Motorcycle-borne militants gunned down five CRPF troopers on one of the busiest roads in south Kashmir’s Anantnag on Wednesday in the first major terrorist strike since the killing of 40 soldiers by a suicide bomber in Pulwama on February 14.
Shortly after the attack on Wednesday, an obscure group named Al-Umar Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack. “The group is largely defunct without any following,” a senior home ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “Al-Umer Mujahideen claiming responsibility for the attack as against the JeM gives Pakistan deniability,” he added.
Another official of the home ministry said the CRPF soldiers killed in the daylight attack were an “easy target” for a terrorist strike. “CRPF soldiers were positioned in the open… this may change,” the official said, asking not to be named. “They can be placed inside a police station or a fortified area and called in when required,” he added, indicating a new approach to how to the force will be used.
In Jammu & Kashmir, the CRPF is involved in counterterror operations and assists in road-opening operations. |
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