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Two teams of terrorists attacked the Pathankot air base on Saturday, and they had -- in all likelihood -- reached there in different vehicles, security sources revealed.
Since combing operations in the forest near the base have not helped the security forces to find any vehicle used by the second team of terrorists, it is assumed that a local Jaish-e-Mohammed unit must have dropped them close to the base.
The first team of terrorists -- four youths in army uniform -- hijacked a car at Kolian on Thursday and traveled about 1,000 kilometre to Pathankot. They abandoned the vehicle at Tajpur village on Friday after slitting the throat of one of the passengers Rajesh Verma, a jeweler from Gurudaspur.
Sources said all the phone calls made by the terrorists to Pakistan were on numbers identified as that of JeM by the security establishment for a long time now.
The police are also scrutinising footage acquired from the toll plaza on the Gurdaspur-Pathankot highway – besides various police and BSF checkpoints on the Bamiyal-Pathankot road – for clues.
One more terrorist was gunned down on Sunday during combing operations.
“We’re sure there are at least two terrorists or more holed up as firing has resumed from two areas. We’ll come to know the number of terrorists holed up at the base only after the completion of the operation and body count,” union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said in Delhi.