Intelligence issued an alert a few days before Pulwama attack: Sources

The Jammu and Kashmir police had reportedly sent an intelligence input to the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, Army and the Air Force warning of a possible IED attack on February 8, a few days before the Pulwama blast which claimed lives of at least 42 CRPF personnel.

The intelligence input, sent on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, asked all security agencies to "sanitize areas properly before occupying your place or deployment as there are inputs that IEDs could be used".

Headlined "extremely urgent", the letter, was marked to the Deputy Inspector General of Central Reserve Police Force, South Srinagar; DIG CRPF, North Srinagar; DIG CRPF North Kashmir, Baramulla; DIG CRPF South Kashmir, Awantipora; DIG CRPF South Kashmir, Anantnag; DIG Sashastra Seema Bal, South Headquarters (Special Operations) Kashmir and all Senior Superintendent of Police of Kashmir zone.

The information was also shared with Inspector General, CRPF, Kashmir operations sector, IG CRPF, Srinagar sector, IG Border Security Force Headquarter Kashmir, all range Deputy Inspector Generals of Police of Kashmir zone, Brigadier General Staff (operations) at the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, the DIG Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Air Force, , the Commandant Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and SSP, Armed Police, Control Room Srinagar.

The letter also mentioned that it should be for "all concerned".

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir police had shared an intelligence input, uploaded on a private twitter account a couple of days back, with all security agencies in which Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed had threatened to carry out the suicide attack on security forces, officials said Thursday.

The input shared by the state police had attached the twitter handle that carried a 33 second video of troops in Somalia being attacked by terrorists in a similar fashion as was replicated on Thursday on a bus carrying CRPF personnel at Pulwama in South Kashmir.

The twitter handle "313_get" is not open for public viewing. It carried a threat "InshaAllah...its will same in Kashmir...endian are flying in parts...InshaAllah (sic)".

The twitter handle is being operated using the virtual private network making it difficult for the security agencies to establish the location of its operator, they said.

The same was shared during the meeting held two days back and all security formations were alerted about a possible terror attack similar to that carried in the twitter handle.

Jammu and Kashmir police had also prepared a dummy video to explain how militants may possibly carry out such an attack, the officials said.