Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has claimed responsibility for the Pathankot attacks, The Indian Express reported. In an interview with Urdu news portal Wajood, he said on Thursday that it was "a continuation of their activities targeting Indian military installations" and also warned the Pakistan government against investigating Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group India blames for the attack. Salahuddin is the also chief of the United Jihad Council, which had taken responsibility for the Pathankot attacks earlier in January.

Salahuddin is reported as saying, "We are at a loss to understand whether they (the Pakistan government) are concerned about the interests of the country that feeds them or that of its enemy", when he addressed a news conference in Pakistan. Reuters reported that he said the Pakistani government and media should play roles of patrons, rather than those of adversaries.

Security forces in India have been on high alert since the attacks on the air force base in early Januray, with Border Security forces shooting down a suspected terrorist near the Tash border outpost in Pathankot district on Thursday, according to CNN-IBN. Reports said three people tried to infiltrate the border at the Sehjra Bulge area, and one was shot down while two escaped. A flag meeting was held between BSF personnel and Pakistan rangers at the Tash Pattan post after the incident took place.

The incident comes a day after investigative officials said there is a possibility that two of the four terrorists killed during attacks on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot could have been insiders. National Investigation Agency officials raided several places including the resident of Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police, Salwinder Singh, on Thursday, as part of the inquiry into the Pathankot attack. Singh, who said his vehicle was hijacked by terrorists who used it to enter the base before the attack, has been questioned and put through a lie detector test as part of the investigation.