Srinagar: In what can be said to be a prize catch for the Indian establishment, one suspected Pakistani terrorist was nabbed by security forces shortly after militants killed two Border Security Force (BSF) troopers in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
The incident happened today when militants attacked a BSF convoy on Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Udhampur killing two men of the force and injuring 11 personnel while the other terrorist involved in the strike was shot dead in retaliatory fire.
The arrested terrorist has been identified as Usman alias Qasim Khan.
After Ajmal Kasab, Khan is the first Pakistan terrorist to get captured alive, after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
The militant, who hails from Gujranwala in Pakistan and was linked to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the group which carried out the horrific 2008 Mumbai terror attack had taken three persons hostage in a school in a village near the area, was arrested after an operation was launched by the Army and the police.
As he was brought down from a mountainous village bound by ropes, the terrorist, believed to be not over 18-years old, looked hassled. He wore a black shirt and trouser.
The dramatic development took place after two militants, reportedly from Pakistan, ambushed a Border Security Force convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Udhampur district, killing two troopers and injuring 11. This happened around 7.30 a.m. at Narsu Nallah, 65 km from Jammu.
One of the militants was shot dead by the BSF personnel who were on their way to the Kashmir Valley. The second attacker fled from the spot, towards Chirdi village in the hills, pursued by security forces.
In the small village, the armed man first took hostage three civilians and forced them to give him food, witnesses later told journalists. He also kept asking about the fate of his colleague.
According to one account, when a group of villagers nabbed him, he began to plead: "Mujhe mat pakdo, mujhe mat pakdo." (Don't catch me, don't catch me.)
This was the first attack on the stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar highway after 15 long years.
