Pathankot attack: Probe still on to ‘trace’ two terrorists

The blasts had reduced the bodies of the two alleged terrorists to charcoal by evening.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is still struggling to confirm the existence of two of the six terrorists in the Pathankot attack because the airmen’s billet, where the two were holed up, witnessed 57 explosions in about eight hours of operations on January 3 that left everything in ashes.

The blasts had reduced the bodies of the two alleged terrorists to charcoal by evening.

While the forensic report of the charcoal blobs (suspected to be human flesh) is yet to come, NSG Director General R C Tayal, on Thursday said, “I can tell you for sure that there were four plus two terrorists. But the NIA is investigating (still), and will give a final word (later),” Tayal said.

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Calling the operation very successful, he said the terrorists were neutralised before they could reach their target. “The target was not to kill people…they had the whole day to kill people. They just wanted to blow up our air assets,” he said.

NIA investigators say they have taken the debris through sieves to filter minutest of material evidence but not found anything that may be called part of a pistol. Sources said the agency is now awaiting the forensic report to confirm this.

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