Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) has emerged as the prime suspect behind Sunday's drone attack on the IAF facility at Jammu with the J&K Police and Central agencies looking at a possible link with the near simultaneous arrest of an operative of The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashker affiliate, in Jammu with an IED he meant to plant at a crowded 'Hindu-dominated' area, including temples.
Apart from the TRF operative, two other LeT men have been picked up, including senior LeT commander Nadeem Abrar who was arrested in Srinagar on Monday and another from Shopian. Sources said they are being questioned to establish a possible LeT link to Sunday's twin blasts on IAF camp at Jammu airport technical area.
"While the probe is still at an early stage, Lashker is being suspected as the outfit has deployed most of the drones in the recent past, used to drop huge quantities of weapons and ammunition etc. Jaish was involved in an odd case, but it is Lashker that has popularised arms drop through drones. The possibility of LeT now launching drones with payloads, can thus not be ruled out," J&K DGP Dilbag Singh said.
While he did not elaborate further, a theory is that Lashker is irked at the recent bombings outside its chief Hafiz Saeed Mohammad's residence in Lahore, the perpetrators of which are yet to be identified. The drone attack on a military facility in India was possibly to showcase its new capabilities. Sources said that the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) has, on the instructions of the ministry of home affairs, deployed its anti-drone surveillance systems at the Jammu airport. An official, however, said the purpose was to test its effectiveness and, if found largely foolproof, extend its use to other sensitive installations.
A source in the security establishment said that while the threat of drones has been acknowledged for long, with new anti-drone technologies being acquired and tested by NTRO, NSG etc for last two years, their effectiveness leaves much to be desired.
Army repels 2 more drones
Meanwhile, the Army reported two more drone sightings over the Kaluchak and Ratnuchak bases either side of midnight on Sunday. The drones retreated after troops opened fire at them, the Army said. “Around midnight on June 27-28, separate drone activities were noticed over the Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military area by troops. Immediately, a high alert was sounded and quick reaction teams engaged in firing,” defence spokesperson (Jammu) Lt Col Devender Anand said. “Both the drones flew away. A major threat was thwarted by the alertness and proactive approach of troops.”
Sources said the first drone was sighted around 11.30 pm while the other was seen hovering around at 1.35 am. At Kaluchak, which reported the first sighting, speculation was rife that a drone had been shot down. The Army didn't say anything beyond the defence spokesperson's official statement. “It is yet to be known whether the drones returned or were shot down in the area,” a source said. “The military station area was cordoned off immediately and a massive search operation was launched.”
