Forces identify 6 LeT militants behind Kashmir minority killings, focus on busting terror network

Multiple agencies, including officers from Delhi, are involved in the operation and the idea is to unearth the entire network behind the terror module.

A security personnel stands guard at a checkpoint in Srinagar, on 11 October 2021 | Representational image | PTI Photo

Srinagar: The security forces in Kashmir Valley are tracking six terrorists, some of whom were caught on a CCTV camera, and their Pakistani handler, for the spate of minority killings in Srinagar last week, ThePrint has learnt.

Sources in the defence and security establishment said the identity of these terrorists has been ascertained and that they belong to Srinagar and South Kashmir.

Sources said a CCTV camera in Srinagar city captured a few of them trying to escape after one of the killings, adding that the grainy picture is being worked on.

Sources also said a number of overground workers (OGWs) of terror groups have been picked up and interrogation is on. The number of people detained by the Jammu and Kashmir Police runs into several dozens.

Meanwhile, in Shopian, the security forces Monday evening shot dead Mukhtar Shah of Ganderbal, who had gunned down street hawker Virendra Paswan in Srinagar last week.

Special team from Delhi in Srinagar

A special team from the national capital, led by a senior counter terrorism officer, with representatives from various security agencies, is in Srinagar, working on the case along with a crack team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Sources said multiple agencies are involved in this operation and the idea is to unearth the entire network behind this terror module than just look for those who pulled the trigger.

The security forces, along with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have been carrying out numerous searches and targeted operations to unearth the terror module behind these killings, which were aimed at creating a fear psychosis in the minds of minorities and tourists visiting the Valley, sources said.

Pakistan terrorist believed to be the mastermind

ThePrint reported Sunday that a Pakistani terrorist, who infiltrated about 20 days back, is believed to be the mastermind of these attacks.

This terrorist is believed to have had at least two previous stints in Kashmir.

While the minority killings have been claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), the actual group behind this is Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The TRF is a front of the LeT and surfaced in October 2019 as part of a Pakistani ploy to give a local face to the terrorism in Kashmir, sources said.

Sources also said several phone intercepts and inputs over the past few weeks suggested that there is pressure on the local terrorists from their Pakistani handlers to carry out targeted attacks.