Srinagar/IBNS: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday swooped down on multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir in the Pakistan-backed terrorist conspiracy case, the anti-terror agency said.

The searches, being conducted at a total of 12 locations, were continued till late in the evening.

While 11 of these locations were located in the Kashmir valley- 8 in Pulwama district, one each in Kulgam, Anantnag, and Budgam districts, one was underway in district Poonch in Jammu.

The NIA said the searches were carried out in a case related to the hatching of a conspiracy, both physical and in cyberspace, and plans by proscribed terrorist organisations to execute violent terrorist attacks in J&K with sticky bombs, IEDs, and small arms.

The plans are part of a larger conspiracy by the terrorist groups to commit terror acts in association with local youths or overground workers in order to create communal disharmony in J&K.

The outfits involved in the conspiracy were identified as Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr, and Al-Qaeda, among others.

NIA registered a suo motu case on June 21, 2022, about the terrorist conspiracy.

The NIA spokesperson said searches on Tuesday were also being carried out in the premises of cadres and hybrid overground workers linked with the affiliates and offshoots of these organizations, operating under pseudo names such as "The Resistance Front (TRF)", "United Liberation Front Jammu & Kashmir (UL J&K)", "Mujahideen Gazwat-ul-Hind (MGH)", "Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Fighters (JKFF)", Kashmir Tigers, PAAF and others.

“Initial investigations by the NIA indicated that these workers and cadres were involved in the collection and distribution of sticky bombs or magnetic bombs, IEDs, cash, narcotics, and small weapons.

"These weapons, bombs, narcotics, etc were being pushed onto the Indian soil by PaK-based handlers and commanders of proscribed terrorist organisations using drones to the terrorists active in the Kashmir valley,” the spokesperson added.

The NIA had conducted similar multiple searches in the said terror conspiracy case at 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir on June 24, last year.

The searches, conducted then in the districts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama, Anantnag, Budgam and Kathua, had led to the seizure of incriminating material and digital devices.

[With UNI inputs]