Another extremist den busted

The security agencies must be complimented for their vigilance which led them to the den of the terrorists not very far from the heart of the capital. If anything, the Saturday morning raid on the hideout reconfirms the reality that we cannot loosen our guard against the damage-causing potential of the religious extremists.

There is a message that we must take away from this episode. In spite of repeated calls to the extremists to surrender, two among them chose not to, and fought till the end, one of them a woman. This indicates very clearly that there are in the ranks of the terrorists highly radicalised and motivated persons who are willing to forsake not only their lives but that of their children too for their 'cause'. And although the two who were killed and the two who surrendered are related to some of the terrorists killed in previous encounters, what we must be concerned about are other sleeper cells who are really the ones that carry out acts of terror on the orders of the 'brain'. 

We understand very well that the security agencies need to be successful every day of the year in preventing terror acts whereas the extremists need to be successful only once. That is why our human intelligence capability must be enhanced manifold to go after the 'brain' because if that is neutralised the operatives would be defused too for lack of guidance and directives. At the same time let us be under no illusion that merely killing a few radicals would see the end of the phenomenon. For that, the financial support which helps them survive, and more importantly their recruitment capability and ideological sustenance, have to be denuded.