NIA arrests facilitator in Nagrota attack

National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a 34-year-old man from Shopian for assisting Pakistani terrorists to carry out a fidayeen attack on highly-fortified army camp at Nagrota in 2016.

On November 29, 2016, a group of heavily-armed Jaish-e-Mohommad (JeM) fidayeens, donning police uniforms, stormed into the highly-fortified camp near 16 Corps headquarters and killed seven soldiers, including two officers at Nagrota on the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway.

Three terrorists were later naturalised in the day-long gunfight. Sixteen hostages — including 12 soldiers, two women and two children — were safely rescued by army troops during the day-long gunfight.

After two years, NIA arrested 34-year-old Tariq Ahmad Dar, who is a timber dealer at Pulwama. According to NIA. Tariq was involved in assisting Pakistani terrorists, who carried out the attack. Last week, NIA had arrested Muneer-Ul- Hassan Qadri of Kupwara in the case.

"Tariq disclosed during interrogation that the terror attack was carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammad. His revelations corroborate with disclosures made by the previously-arrested accused Muneer-Ul- Hassan Qadri, who had revealed that he along with other valley-based operatives were in touch with the JeM leadership in Pakistan and had received a freshly-infiltrated group of three Pakistani terrorists a day before the attack", said NIA in the statement.

According to NIA, they subsequently stayed at a hotel in Jammu and then dropped the attackers at Nagrota, outside the Army camp late at night and proceeded to Kashmir valley.