JOIN USJeM camp was on banks of Kunhar river, offered training
The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp, which was destroyed in India's air strike, was located on the banks of Kunhar river in Pakistan's Pakhtunkhwa province and offered the possibility of aquatic training for terrorists besides other facilities, government sources said on Tuesday.
The facility, an important training facility for the JeM, was also believed to have been used by the terror group Hizbul Mujahideen earlier.
According to sources, the camp was located 20 km from the Balakot town and trainers were former Pakistan Army officials. At the camp, the terrorists were also given spiritual training as well as "inspirational" lectures by JeM founder Masood Azhar and others.
The camp was huge and it housed several scores of terrorists, sources said. One of the estimates said the Balakot camp had 250-300 JeM recruits at any given time.
Sources claimed that Balakot was chosen as the Indian Air Force's target because it was one of the prominent training centres and it was here the planning of Pulwama attack took place. It is also believed that Azhar's relatives were also trained at Balakot in advanced weapons.
In this camp, sources said, terrorists were given advanced training in weapons, explosives and field tactics, attack on convoys of security forces, planting and making of IEDs, suicide bombing and survival tactics in high altitudes.
Sources said the camp was also important for the JeM as it provided the possibility of aquatic training for the terrorists.
They said the JeM has given more importance to suicide attacks. Religious indoctrination and ideological brainwashing is part of its training, they claimed.