Ganderbal attack: Terrorists armed with assault rifles, first visuals emerge

Images of two terrorists involved in the attack at a tunnel construction site Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district that killed a doctor and six migrant workers earlier this week, have emerged. The images from CCTV footage show the terrorists carrying a US-made M4 carbine assault rifle and an AK-47.
The attack took place on Sunday and the seven victims were part of a construction team working on the Z-Morh tunnel, which connects Gaganeer to Sonamarg in Ganderbal district.
The images capture the terrorists entering a worker’s camp where the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project lived.
The attack occurred after the victims had returned to the camp on Sunday night.
Both the terrorists had beards, were tall and slim. They were dressed in black and wrapped grey shawls.
A day after the attack, sources confirmed to India Today TV that The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility.
They said TRF chief Sheikh Sajjad Gul, a resident of Srinagar, was the mastermind of the attack and the outfit’s local module carried out the attack targeting Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris together for the first time.
According to the sources, the TRF had carried out a recee of the Sonamarg site for the last one month, with two to three terrorists said to be involved in carrying out Sunday’s attack.
Since Sunday, authorities have rounded up more than 40 suspects for questioning, with teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) scouring the area for crucial evidence. The Army, CRPF and police personnel also launched a large-scale combing operation Sonamarg on Monday.
Of the seven victims, three have been identified — Dr Shahnawaz, Shashi Bhushan Abrol and Gurmeet Singh.
This was one of the deadliest attacks on migrant workers in the Kashmir Valley.
On October 18, terrorists killed Ashok Chauhan, a migrant worker from Bihar, in Shopian district. Locals found Chauhan’s bullet-riddled body in the Waduna area of Zainapora.
In April, migrant labourer Raju Shah was shot dead by terrorists in a targeted attack in Anantnag district.
For nearly two years now, the TRF has targeted Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs and non-locals in the valley.