Srinagar: In a major breakthrough, the Army nabbed three militants of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) and al-Badr outfits and recovered a huge cache of weapons in two separate operations in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, a Defence spokesman said today (Dec 23, 2003).

Acting on specific information, the troops raided Surigam-Chirkote village in the border district and arrested two local LeT militants, Farooq Ahmad Bhat (22) and Mohammad Majloon Mir (35), and an al-Badr militant Khalid Jeelani of village Bawan last evening, Lt Col Mukhtar Singh told reporters.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition including two AK assault rifles, 1,500 rounds, a pistol, an Under-barrel Grenade launcher, 15 rifle grenades, two wireless sets, four improvised explosive devices (IED), one binocular, a country-made pistol, 18 rounds of heavy machine gun and fake currency of face value Rs.10, 000 were recovered from them, he said.

He said the captured militants, during preliminary questioning, disclosed that they had supplied huge quantity of arms and ammunition to Qasim, a Pakistani national of al-Badr and Nasrullah, also a Pakistani.

"The interrogation of arrested militants is still on and we are expecting more arrests and recoveries, besides details about fake currency from them," Singh said.

In another operation, the spokesman said, troops recovered 11 IEDs, 15 rifle grenades, four hand grenades, a wireless set, four anti-personal mines, 400 rounds of Pika gun and 325 round of AK ammunition from Zachaldara in Handwara area of Kupwara district.

However, no one was arrested in connection with the seizure, Singh said.