Daijiworld Media Network – Srinagar
Srinagar, Aug 2: A terrorist was arrested along with arms and ammunition during a joint security operation in the Fathagadh area of Sheeri in north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Saturday, officials said.
The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian Army's 46 Rashtriya Rifles, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, and the 53 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
According to officials, security personnel apprehended one terrorist during the operation and recovered arms and ammunition from his possession.
The identity of the arrested terrorist and details of the weapons seized are yet to be disclosed. An official statement is expected later.
The arrest comes days after two migrant labourers were killed in a terrorist attack at a brick kiln in the Kelam area of south Kashmir's Kulgam district.
The victims, Deepak Ratray and Bopinder, both in their 20s, were shot dead on Friday evening. The Resistance Front (TRF), a group considered a proxy of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack and reportedly issued threats of further attacks targeting outsiders and Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the killings, saying no compensation could undo the loss suffered by the victims' families.
"They had come to Kashmir to work. People from outside the state had come here to earn an honest livelihood. Those innocent people were targeted in such a manner. The attack cannot be condemned enough," he said.
Earlier this week, security forces also unearthed a suspected militant hideout in the Bhangai forest area of Rajouri district during a search operation.
Officials said the hideout, concealed in dense vegetation, contained ration supplies and other items believed to have been used by militants, including rice packets, instant noodles, a knife, a lighter, a plastic sheet, an old blanket, a gas stove nozzle, candles and a plastic bottle.
Search operations in the area are continuing to trace any militants and gather further evidence, officials added.