DNA sole clue to Uri attackers’ identity as 3 of 4 terrorists' faces charred

NEW DELHI: The guides who helped the four Uri terrorists infiltrate the LoC could identify only one of them as the faces of the rest were reportedly burnt beyond recognition in the operation to neutralise them. Guides Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsaan Khursheed, apprehended by villagers in Uri and handed over to the security forces, were shown the photographs of the terrorists. According to them, the sole identifiable terrorist was Hafeez Ahmed of Dharbang, Muzaffarabad.

Sources said the terrorists’ DNA had been extracted, and it could help establish a positive identification if the NIA manages to trace their origins and parentage during the investigation.

The two guides helped the four attackers enter India from Peer Chandna Sai, Gyarahbad, in POK. They are being interrogated by the NIA.

The NIA had established the identities of the four Pathankot attackers and shared the information with the Pakistani team that visited India in March to “investigate” the strike. However, Islamabad is yet to corroborate the data.

On Tuesday, India handed over the information available on the Uri attackers’ and their guides’ Pakistan link to Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit. Foreign secretary S Jaishankar also shared with Basit proof of the attack’s Pakistani origins, including the markings and batch numbers on food packets and medicines recovered from the terrorists.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies have noted a major spike in infiltration of

Lashker-e-Taiba

(LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists across the LoC over the past few months. “Around 100 terrorists have crossed the border so far this year, of which 40-50 were neutralised. Infiltration is expected to go up further. We apprehend heightened terrorist activity in the Kashmir Valley in the coming months, targeted mostly at security forces and their camps,” a senior intelligence officer told TOI.

“Pakistan has been under pressure to step up terror activities in India following the failure of the bilateral talks to take off, and the arrest of former Indian Naval officer Kulbushan Jadhav, described by Pakistan as an ‘Indian spy working for R&AW’, on its soil. The steppedup infiltration is part of Pakistan-backed outfits’ strategy to escalate violence in J&K,” said the official.

Intelligence sources say most of the recent infiltration bids have been reported in Kupwara, Uri and even Gulmarg. Though inputs suggest that the terrorists arrive to carry out attacks in Kashmir, sources say they pose a threat to the rest of the country as well. Both the Army and BSF have been told to step up border vigil and plug gaps along LoC/IB, while the intelligence agencies have stepped up surveillance to detect terrorists at launchpads in POK.