‘Created a lot of terror’: Lashkar terrorist who shot at Kashmiri toddler killed

A Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist who attacked the family of a fruit trader in north Kashmir to scare others from resuming their business has been killed, a top official of Jammu and Kashmir has said. Asif Maqbool Bhat was killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore, about 45 km from Srinagar.

Lashkar’s Asif Maqbool Bhat is reported to have led the attack on the home of a fruit trader in Sopore, the region’s main fruit-growing area, for carrying on with his business despite widespread protest boycotts.

The trader’s son, granddaughter Asma Jan and another family member were injured in the attack. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had intervened in this case and ordered that Asma Jan, who was critical, be airlifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in national capital Delhi.

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Security forces were able to track down Asif Maqbool Bhat after the arrest of eight overground workers linked to the terror group.

Jammu and Kashmir police tweeted that Asif Maqbool Bhat was also responsible for shooting at migrant labourer Shafi Alam at Sopore.

“Asif had created a lot of terror in Sopore,” Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh said, according to news agency ANI. He said Asif Maqbool Bhat had been very active over the last one month after the Centre scrapped special status for the state. “He had used over ground workers to print posters threatening civilians not to open shops and not to resume their day-to-day activities,” the police chief said.

The attack on the fruit trader also was part of this terror campaign. Hundreds of apple trucks have been moving out Sopore to deliver their produce to the rest of the country. Authorities have described the movement of fruits as a sign of normalcy returning to the state.