CRPF camp attack: 16-year-old suicide bomber among 3 JeM militants killed in Pulwama

The teenage militant has been identified as Fardeen Khanday, son of a Jammu-Kashmir policeman

New Delhi | Updated: January 1, 2018 05:03 PM IST

2 min read

Paramilitary soldiers guard the entry point where suspected rebels were believed to be holed up in Lethpora area of Pulwama south of Srinagar in Sunday.Express Photo By Shuaib Masoodi 31-12-2017

A 16-year-old suicide bomber was among the three militants killed in Sunday’s attack on a CRPF training camp in Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Pakistan’s Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Monday released an undated, eight-minute video of his appeal to Kashmiri youths and Muslims across the country to join the “fight against India”.

The teenage militant, identified as Fardeen Khanday, son of a Jammu-Kashmir policeman, begins the video by saying: “By the time the video is released I will already be a new guest in heaven.” Seated amidst a huge cache of ammunition and grenades, Khanday claims unemployment was not pushing Kashmiri youths towards militancy. “The fact is that it is nothing (but) propaganda. The importance of jihad increases when infidels occupy our land and threaten the modesty of our women. My friends and I have listened to the call of Quran and plunged into the battlefield of jihad. This will continue till the last occupying soldier is present in Kashmir,” he was quoted as saying by IANS.

Police said Khanday, a resident of Tral in south Kashmir, joined militancy only three months ago. In the video, he also talks about the demolition of Babri Masjid as well as attacks on security forces blamed on the Jaish. “Even after repeated claims by Indian security forces and agencies, Jaish-e-Mohammad has not been wiped out from the Valley. Jaish is not so weak. It is impossible to stop Jaish-e-Mohammad… We are roaring,” Khanday says in the recorded video.

On Sunday, five CRPF security personnel were killed and three injured in the fidayeen attack on a CRPF training camp. Security forces today recovered the body of the third militant after briefly suspending the search operation last night.

with IANS inputs

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