Sajid Saifullah Jatt, believed to be commanding the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Kashmir, may have been the one to task the local Lashkar-backed The Resistance Front to carry out the attack on the passenger bus in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district that left nine people dead and 41 injured, sources told News18.
On Sunday, terrorists opened fire at the 53-seater bus carrying pilgrims when it was en route from Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra near Teryath village in the Poni area. The bus plunged into the deep gorge following the gunfire.
According to sources in J&K Police, recent communications and intercepts suggest the order to carry out this type of an attack was given recently. “It’s premature to say if they wanted to target this particular group of pilgrims or wanted to attack pilgrims in general,” a source said.
News18 had reported few weeks ago that the Shiv Khori temple was on the radar of terror groups, following which security in the area was increased. Security and investigating agencies are now trying to ascertain if the terrorists had prior knowledge of pilgrims at the temple.
As per sources, Sajid Jatt tasked the TRF to carry out the attack to make it look like “home-grown terror”.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), State Investigation Agency (SIA) and forensic department teams have visited the spot of the terror attack and initiated a probe.
Security forces, including the Army, police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have laid a multi-dimensional cordon of the Teryath-Poni-Shiv Khori area bordering Rajouri district. Armed with surveillance equipment, including drones and sniffer dogs, a massive combing operation was launched in the area and adjoining areas of the district.
Terrorists involved in the attack were believed to be hiding in the upper reaches of neighbouring Rajouri and Reasi.
Soon after the attack on Sunday, the TRF-affiliated Jhelum Media Group claimed responsibility. It, however, immediately deleted the post from its website. Later, the Jaish-e-Mohammed-affliated PAFF posted a note on its website condemning the attack.
According to top sources, the Pakistani establishment fears going back to the grey list of the FATF if such attacks are traced back to its soil.
Officials said that 41 people were injured in the attack and 10 of them sustained bullet wounds. Anti-Pakistan protests broke out across the Jammu region, including Katra, Doda town and Kathua district, calling for increased security measures to prevent such incidents.
Accusing Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the protesters demanded action against the neighbouring country.
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