IANS

Jammu, Jan 4: Intelligence agencies have received "credible inputs" of terror attacks planned by militant outfits in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Republic Day on Jan 26, especially in the state's summer capital Srinagar, officials said.

"This has come to our attention through (conversation) intercepts," a senior intelligence department official told.

Without divulging the exact details of the intercepts, the official revealed VIPs, particularly political leaders, could be the likely targets.

"Terrorists are desperate to strike in Srinagar for they have not been able to do anything big in the city," the official said.

Another reason, the official disclosed, is that the militants have not been able to strike either in the run up to the Republic Day or on the day itself for the past few years. "This year they want to strike with a vengeance," as per the details of the plot known to the intelligence agencies.

Their last big strike on the day was in 1995, when they had unsuccessfully tried to target then governor KV Krishna Rao. However, nine people were killed and more than 100 injured in the series of explosions at Jammu's Maulana Azad Memorial Stadium on Jan 26 that year.