TRF, offshoot of LeT, behind Kashmir targeted killings: NIA unearths terror strategy

A senior NIA official said that most of the targeted killings are being carried out by TRF, an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, reports ETV Bharat's Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi:The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday claimed to have unearthed terrorists' strategy of carrying out targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir following its investigation into the arms recovery case. A senior NIA official said that most of the targeted killings are being carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba.

"The TRF have been receiving arms and ammunitions to carry out targeted killings from their Pakistani handlers of LeT," the official said. On July 30, NIA took over a case from Kathua police of J&K after drones carrying arms and ammunition were intercepted in May in the Samba sector. "The consignment of arms and ammunition are being used to carry out attacks on minorities, migrants and security forces," the official said.

Since Thursday morning, the investigative agency conducted raids in at least eight different locations of J&K in the arms recovery case. "Searches were carried in four locations in Kathua, and one each in Srinagar, Jammu, Samba and Doda districts," the official added. Following the search operation, several incriminating documents, digital devices and SIM cards have been recovered.

After a brief lull, terrorists carried out a targeted attack by killing a Kashmiri pandit in the Shopian district and injuring his brother on August 16. As per official records, at least 24 persons have lost their lives in targeted killing by terrorists in J&K this year so far. As many as seven policemen and eight civilians including six from minority communities were killed by militants.

New normalcy in J&K, claims CRPF

While there has been an uptick in militancy incidents in the last few weeks, security agencies assert that a "new normalcy" is returning to Jammu and Kashmir. Talking to ETV Bharat, KM Yadav, Inspector General, CRPF (Intl) said that people can now move freely in J&K. "During the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we have seen the enthusiasm of the local people in celebrating India's independence. In every nook and corner of the region, people hoisted the national flag," said Yadav.

He said that with the presence of security forces, militancy-related incidents in J&K have "decreased". As per official statistics, 180 terrorists were neutralised by security agencies including police, army and CRPF in 2021. At least, 136 terrorists were neutralised till August this year.