JeM confirms what forces fear

‘‘Attacks on security forces, particularly the BSF, are likely to intensify. At the first opportunity, Jaish men could target BSF camps and senior officers,’’ Sharma said, after his day-long visit to Srinagar.

Adding that there was no shortage of men for Jaish or other militant outfits, the DG said: ‘‘As soon as we kill some, more are ready to replace them.’’ As per their estimates, there are around 3,000 terrorists in the Valley at any given time.

Putting all doubts about Baba’s identity to rest, Sharma said his body had been identified by his widow and a television correspondent who had interviewed him, apart from intelligence officials. Moreover, an identity card with his photograph was recovered from his pocket which gave his name as Shahbaz Khan alias Rana Tahir Nadeem alias Jehadi Gazi Baba.

Sharma said explosives, including four jerry-cans of powdered RDX mixed with pellets, were recovered from the three-storey house where Baba was holed up and which was ultimately bombed. Also recovered were rocket launchers, AK-47 rifles, electric detonators, 30 bore pistols and grenades — all of them with foreign markings, mostly Chinese, he said.

Sharma also gave an account of BSF performance in the Valley this year, stating that the force had already killed 123 terrorists and captured 139. Apart from Baba, he said, other militants killed by them include Amanullah Shah Pir, Shaukat Ahmad Ganai, and Ghulam Hassan Khan of Hizbul Mujahideen and Abdul Zahid Chaudhary, chief coordinator and publicity chief of Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Chaudhary, he claimed, was the mastermind behind the Akshardham attack and was killed by BSF on August 8.