A Pakistan-based operative of Lashkar-e-Toiba arm, The Resistance Front, is behind the latest spike in terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, according to sources in security agencies.
Saifullah Sajid Jatt is from Shangamanga village in Kasur district of Pakistan's Punjab and is a "hardcore terrorist", according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). There is a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
Jatt, sources said, is operating from a base camp in Pakistan capital Islamabad. His wife is of Indian origin and stays with him, they added. He has earlier worked in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and is currently handling Lashkar's recruitment and helping terrorists cross over into India, the sources said.
Sajid Jatt is considered to be an operational commander of Lashkar and also handles its terror funding. He is on the most wanted list of the NIA. Security agencies suspect that he has a contact person named Qasim in Jammu and Kashmir, and a search is on for him. Jatt, they suspect, is behind several terror strikes in the Valley over the past few years.
The Union Territory has witnessed a string of terror attacks over the past couple of months. Last month, terrorists opened fire at a bus in which pilgrims were travelling. The bus fell into a gorge in Reasi district and nine people were killed.
Days after the Reasi incident, two armed terrorists entered a village and opened fire. Villagers informed authorities and security forces arrived. In the gunfight that followed, a CRPF personnel was killed and the terrorists shot dead.
Over the past two days, five terrorists have been killed in separate encounters in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. The encounters also left two soldiers, including a para-trooper, dead. The attack comes at a time when the Amarnath Yatra is on.