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Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a member of Jaish-e- Mohammed group that carried out the lethal strike at the state assembly complex on October 1 this year, which killed 35 persons and injured 40 others.
Disclosing this to newsmen at the heavily guarded state police control room Director General Of Police Jammu and Kashmir A K Suri said the militant -- identified Firdaus Ahmad Shah -- was arrested by the special operations group from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
The JeM had, however, disowned the responsibility for the attack, after initially owning responsibility for the attack.
Giving details the DGP said, "As per the statement of Firdaus, a top militant of the JeM identified as Qasim Bhai had brought an empty milk can to Shah's residence, where an improvised explosive device was fitted. They later kept the milk can fitted with an IED in a mosque, and on October 1, the IED fitted can was kept in a Tata Sumo. Four foreign militants and one local activist drove the Sumo to Jehangir Chowk, and later proceeded to the gate of the state assembly."
"At the gate, three militants in police uniforms got down, while the fourth militant -- identified as Wajahat Hussain -- rammed the Sumo laden with explosives into the gate."
"In the confusion following the massive explosion, the three militants in police uniforms managed to gain entry into the complex and fired indiscriminately killing the employees of state assembly and the security forces," the statement said.
Suri said Qasim Bhai was killed by a patrol party of the BSF near Dewan Bagh area of Srinagar.
The DGP also said that in another major achievement the SOG smashed Al-Badr network in central Kashmir by killing its chief commander Haiz alias Dr Nayeem, a Pakistani national and Syed Talha Ahmed another militant of the outfit.
"We have smashed a number of hideouts of the Al Badr outfit and arrested 13 activists of the outfit," Suri said.
He also welcomed Hizbul Mujaheedin statement that the outfit favoured a political solution to the Kashmir problem.
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