Ganderbal Terror Attack: NIA Likely To Take Over Probe As Lashkar Link Emerges Behind Killing Of 7

A National Investigation Agency team, led by a senior officer, headed to a terror attack site in Gagangir in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district where a doctor and six construction workers were killed on Sunday evening.

The NIA Jammu branch headed by a Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officer will assist the Jammu and Kashmir police in the terror attack probe, said sources aware of the matter. The NIA is likely to take over the probe.

Terrorist group The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack as its chief Sheikh Sajjad Gul masterminded the horror.

The terrorists opened fire on a camp housing workers, who were working on an under-construction Z-Morh tunnel which connects Gaganeer to Sonamarg in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal.

Ganderbal district, long regarded as a peaceful area, has seen non-locals targeted for the first time in recent years. The district largely remained calm, and the area where gunfire erupted today has experienced peace for the past 10-15 years.

Following the terror attack last evening, security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) along with local police officials have cordoned off the area.

Former Jammu and Kashmir DGP Shesh Paul Vaid on Monday slammed Pakistan's 'Deep State' after the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the attack that killed seven civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Sunday evening.

"How could the deep state of Pakistan tolerate some icebreaking vibes coming from the recent visit of @DrSJaishankar to the SCO meeting in Islamabad and handshaking/smiling pictures with Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif," Vaid wrote in an X post.