3 terror associates affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba held with arms and ammunition in J-K's Budgam

Three terror associates affiliated with the proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have been arrested in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Sunday.

Acting on a specific input, the Budgam police, 53 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) conducted the operation to nab the accused who were also working for other terror outfits including Tehreek ul Mujahideen.

The arrested accused identified as Mohammed Yousuf Dar, Abdul Majeed Mir and Reyaz Ahmad Basmati have been booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

2 Hand grenades, 25 AK-47 rounds, 4 detonators, mobile phones used to contact Pakist handlers, threat posters and other incriminating material has been recovered from them, the police stated in a release.

The police said these terror associates were operating in Budgam and Srinagar districts with the aim to target newly elected District Development Council (DDC) members and disrupt elections.

"They were in touch with handlers in Pakistan viz Sheikh, Usman, Tariq, Haftullah and others. These terror associates in garb of securing admissions in Pakist educational institutions were managing contacts with Pakistan based terror handlers in order to recruit terrorists and revive militancy in Budgam," read the release.

"They were also involved in several grenade attacks in district Srinagar. The terror associates disclosed that their motive was to recycle the ex-militants and target DDCs, security forces, and political workers. This group has also been active in issuing threat letters to political workers in the recent past, the same have also been recovered from them," it said.

( With inputs from ANI )