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Al Qaeda men operating in Surankote area: Army

"We have reports about the presence of a group of Al Qaeda terrorists operating in Surankote belt of Poonch district for some time now," General Officer Commanding (GOC), 25 infantry division, Major General Randhir Singh told a group of Jammu-based mediapersons during a visit to the border belts in Mendhar (Poonch).

However, the security forces "have not captured or killed any one to prove the existence of the group," he said.

Surankote-Manjakote, with a rocky terrain similar to Afghanistan, is home to about 600 militants with 80 per cent of them being foreign mercenaries, intelligence sources said.

It is currently a launching pad of terrorists into the Kashmir valley and other districts of Jammu division, they add.

Men of the Al Qaeda and Taliban numbering 20 to 25 were reported to have infiltrated into Poonch some time back, pushed into India by Pakistan's Special Service Group (SSG), they said. These terrorists are housing themselves in some natural caves in the Surankote-Manjakote-Thanamandi areas, they added.

PTI

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