Srinagar: The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of Lashkar-E-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack near the tunnel-construction site in Ganderbal district on Sunday evening.
A doctor and six labourers were killed in the attack when the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project at Gund on the Srinagar-Leh national highway had returned to their camp late in the evening.
According to reports, the death toll is likely to go up as situation of some of the injured persons continues to remain critical.
What is The Resistance Front?
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy outfit of terrorist organization Lashkar-E-Taiba and came into existence in 2019.
#WATCH | J&K | Security forces took position & cordoned off the area in Gaganger, Sonamarg, Ganderbal, following a terror attack yesterday. Authorities launched a search operation to neutralize the attackers and ensure the safety of the region.
(Visuals deferred by unspecified… pic.twitter.com/kEgFah4ee8
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2024
It has been involved in planning of killings of security force personnel and innocent civilians of Jammu and Kashmir, co-ordinating and transporting weapons to support proscribed terrorist organisations, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from across the border.
Ganderbal terror attack
Official said that the terrorists carried out the attack when the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project had returned to their camp late in the evening. They terrorists, believed to be at least two, opened indiscriminate firing on the group of labourers that included both locals and non-locals.
Officers familiar with the investigation into the attack said while two labourers died on the spot, four others and the doctor succumbed to their injuries subsequently, adding that five people are undergoing treatment for injuries.
The deceased have been identified as Dr Shahnawaz, Faheem Nazir, Kaleem, Mohammad Hanif, Shashi Abrol, Anil Shukla and Gurmeet Singh.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the attackers, the officials said.
Why terrorists targeted tunnel project workers in Ganderbal?
In its release, the TRF claimed that the tunnel project on Srinagar-Leh national highway is primarily intended for military transportation. TRF said they have warned the locals and non-locals against their participation in such ‘illegal’projects.
Warning more attacks in future, TRF said they would be monitoring such project and people’s involvement in them.
