The recent spate of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir has drawn attention to the rapid rise of Pakistan-based terrorist organisations Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) shadow militant organisations.
The Kashmir Tigers, a shadow wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), claimed responsibility for the attacks in Doda and Kathua in which 10 security personnel were killed.
Earlier this week, five security personnel were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. All staff members, including the captain, were killed.The Kashmir Tigers have warned of more such attacks against troops.
Police sources told India Today that Jaish-e-Mohammed is pursuing a strategy to get these shadowy groups to claim responsibility for the attack.
A senior Jammu and Kashmir police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was a well-thought-out plan by Jaish and Lashkar to mislead security agencies.
“This is not the first time that a terror organisation is using a shadow name. This strategy has been used before with names like ‘Resistance Front’, ‘Kashmir Freedom Fighters’ and ‘People’s Anti-Fascist Front’ but the forces are aware of this operational plan,” the officer said.
While creating confusion and misleading the investigation are the main reasons for this shadow strategy, experts believe that an attempt to give a local feel to the terror attack is another key element.
Using the name Kashmir Tigers creates the impression that local militants are at work and carrying out these attacks.
Kashmir Tigers
The name Kashmir Tigers first emerged in 2019 after Article 370 was abrogated.
In December 2021, the group claimed responsibility for an ambush attack on the outskirts of Srinagar that killed three policemen.
In the 2021 terror attack, terrorists fired indiscriminately at a police bus of the 9th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Armed Forces in Zewan, on the outskirts of Srinagar, injuring several policemen and killing three.
Since then, the same group has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the Union Territory.
On June 12, they targeted the Army’s Temporary Operational Base (TOB) in Doda, injuring five Army soldiers and a special police personnel.
The attack took place at a joint police and Rashtriya Rifles checkpost at the Indian Army base in Chattargala area near Sartar area of Kathua district. Reports said the terrorists also hurled grenades, causing further injuries.
This violence is July 9 attack The attack by the Kashmir Tigers took place in a remote area of Machedi region of Kathua district. The terrorists targeted an army truck near Badnota village of Lohai Malhar, around 150 km from Kathua city, around 3.30 pm on Monday. A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was among the five killed in the attack. Five other soldiers were injured and hospitalised.
