The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, carried out the attack in Ganderbal, killing seven people and marking the first time they targeted both Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris.
Summary:
– A doctor and six migrant workers were killed in a terror attack in Ganderbal on Sunday.
– The Resistance Front (TRF) terrorists conducted reconnaissance of the site a month before the attack.
– This attack marked a shift in TRF’s strategy, targeting both locals and non-locals.
The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, which resulted in the deaths of a doctor and six migrant workers on Sunday, according to sources from India Today TV.
Sheikh Sajjad Gul, the TRF chief, is identified as the mastermind behind the attack. Under his direction, the group’s local operatives executed the attack, marking the first time they targeted both Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris simultaneously, sources revealed.
The Resistance Front (TRF) has been active in Kashmir over the past year and a half, targeting Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs, and non-locals. This marks a significant shift in the group’s strategy, which previously focused primarily on killing Kashmiri Pandits, according to sources.
The terror group conducted a month-long reconnaissance of the attack site, a construction area in Sonamarg, Ganderbal district, according to sources. It is believed that two to three terrorists carried out the targeted killings.
A four-member team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to visit the attack site on Monday afternoon, according to sources from the Union Home Ministry. The NIA is likely to take over the investigation into Sunday’s attack.
Initial reports indicate that the victims, including Dr. Shahnawaz and six migrant workers, were part of the construction team working on the Z-Morh tunnel, which connects Gaganeer to Sonamarg in Ganderbal.
The attack occurred when the laborers and other staff working on the tunnel project at Gund in Ganderbal had returned to their camp late in the evening, according to officials speaking to PTI. Five others were injured in the incident.
**Rahul Gandhi and Omar Abdullah Condemn the Attack**
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday condemned the “cowardly” attack, offering his condolences to the bereaved families and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
“The killing of several people, including a doctor and migrant laborers, in the terror attack in Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir, is a cowardly and unforgivable crime. My deepest condolences to the grieving families, and I hope for the swift recovery of the injured,” he tweeted in Hindi.
He added, “This audacity of terrorists will never break the spirit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The entire nation stands united in the fight against terrorism.”
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah strongly condemned the attack on “unarmed innocent people,” which occurred just four days after his swearing-in.
The Ganderbal attack followed the killing of a migrant worker from Bihar in Shopian district on October 18. Earlier, in April this year, terrorists carried out a similar targeted attack, killing another migrant laborer from Bihar in Anantnag district.
