3-4 militants involved in Bota Pathri attack: Police

Srinagar,  Oct 26: J&K Police on Saturday said that three to four  militants were involved in the deadly ambush on an Army vehicle in the  Bota Pathri area of Baramulla district which resulted in the death of  two soldiers and two civilian porters.

The combing  operations continued on Saturday in the forests of Gulmarg, Bota Pathri  and neighbouring areas to trace the attackers involved in the attack.  The forces are using drones and helicopters to scan the vast forest  area.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla Mohammad Zaid said the search operation is continuing in the area.

“The searches by the joint teams of Police, Army and paramilitary were  put on halt during the night and it resumed at the first light of the  day.  The searches are being conducted in a vast area of Gulmarg and  Baba Reshi forest,” Zaid told reporters in Baramulla on the sidelines of  a function.

He said that all necessary precautions have also been taken in the built-up areas.

The SSP said that evidence so far from the site of the attack suggest that three to four militants were involved in the attack.

The  People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), which security agencies believe is  an offshoot of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed,  purportedly claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement  circulating on social media.

On Friday, the  Army said that the attackers were “Pakistani terrorists” and the ambush  was aimed at disrupting the ongoing progress towards peace in Kashmir.

On  Thursday evening, militants targeted a convoy belonging to the Army's  18 Rashtriya Rifles which was en route to Gulmarg in the Bota Pathri  area near the Line of Control. Two soldiers identified as  Rifleman  Kaisar Ahmad Shah from Anantnag district and Rifleman Jeevan Singh from  Sirsa district of Haryana and two civilian porters from north Kashmir  were killed in the attack.