Pakistan-based outfit claims responsibility for J&K terror attack; one Punjabi among 7 dead

Srinagar: The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistan-based terror group, has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s deadly attack on unarmed civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

The death toll has risen to seven as more victims succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

According to sources, TRF chief Sheikh Sajjad Gul, based in Pakistan, is believed to be the mastermind behind the attack. Under his orders, the local TRF module, which has targeted both Kashmiris and non-Kashmiris for the first time, carried out the attack in the Gagangir area of Ganderbal.

The assault is suspected to have been executed by two or three militants. Previously, the TRF has focused its attacks on Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs, and other non-Kashmiris in the region over the last year and a half.

However, there has been a shift in its strategy, now targeting both local and non-local individuals involved in development projects.

In response, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) launched an investigation into the attack on Monday.