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Police arrest Al Qaeda's main link in Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday arrested a key link of Al Qaeda's network in the state.

Ghulam Qadir Nazar was arrested from his Manzgam-Shalimar residence in Kashmir, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) K Rajendra Kumar said.

Nazar, a casual labourer in a Srinagar hotel, had provided shelter to Al Qaeda terrorists in the past 45 days, the IGP said.

Nazar had even provided safe hideout to Al Qaeda activist Qamar Ayub, a Pakistan-occupied Kashmir national who was arrested in Jammu on December 24.

Acting on information provided by Ayub, the police raided Nazar's residence and arrested him, the IGP said.

The police also recovered Rs 2 million from his residence, sources said.

Kumar also said between 20 and 25 Al Qaeda activists had reportedly sneaked inside the Kashmir valley.

"We have unconfirmed reports that activists of the Al Qaeda, led by Mullah Abrar -- a close associate of Osama bin Laden -- have sneaked inside the valley from Kupwara sector in North Kashmir," Kumar said.

"We are trying to verify the reports. We got the information from various sources," he said.

The police also arrest Ghulam Mohammed Bhat, who was working in the Kashmir awareness bureau in New Delhi, Kumar said. "Bhat is a Jamaat-e-Islami worker and was the main link between terrorists and the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi," he said.

Meanwhile, at least three army soldiers and an equal number of militants were killed while 40 persons, including four cops, were wounded when terrorists attacked Budgam police chief Ashiq Hussain Bukhari's motorcade with a grenade. Bukhari escaped in the attack.

The injured were immediately rushed to the hospital. Five persons were reported to be in serious condition.

Three army soldiers died in a fierce gun battle during a search operation at Tilwani, Anantnag. An equal number of terrorists were killed in the skirmish.

Agencies

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