Indian Army’s intelligence unit locates 4 terror pads across LoC

The intelligence also saw heavily armed men dressed in camouflage being dropped to the launch pads.

New Delhi: The Indian Army’s intelligence wing has detected at least four terror launch pads across the Line of Control near the Samba sector, where six people were killed on Tuesday due to incessant shelling by Pakistani forces.

According to a report, the Jaish-e-Muhammad launch pads were situated less than 5kms within the Pakistani side. It added that the Military Intelligence also observed ‘heavily armed men dressed in camouflage’ were seen being dropped at Pakistan's Nur-ul-Islam Border Outpost.

It was also revealed that the launch pads were training the militants to work on terror strikes such as the Uri and Pathankot attacks, with exercises such as the Daura-e-Aam and Daura-e-Khas.

The report also noted that one of the launch pads was located just opposite the BSF border outpost at Paharpur in Kathua's Hiranagar sector.

The launch pads in question were reportedly set up by the LeT two years ago, but were redundant. The intelligence report is also in tune with the interrogation report of Abdul Qayoom, JuD chief Hafeez Saeed’s associate, which claimed that the organisation was sending terrorists to the launch pads to infiltrate into India and ‘explore Jammu and Kashmir as a possible target’.

The location of the terror camps were reportedly changed from PoK to the region within the Pakistani territory after the surgical strikes by India on September 29 to avoid future detection by the Indian Army.

(This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle)