A migrant worker was shot dead at Sumbal in Jammu & Kashmir’s Bandipora district in the latest in a spate of targeted attacks on civilians in the region.
In a tweet, police said Mohammad Amrez, who was from Bihar’s Madhepura, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital after terrorists fired upon him late on Thursday.
This was the second such attack in Kashmir this month. On August 4, another migrant labourer was killed and two others injured in a grenade attack at Gadoora in the Pulwama district. Police said that two assailants responsible for the attack have been identified. On June 3, a brick kiln worker was killed in the Budgam district.
A little-known group United Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the Gadoora attack. Umar Wani, who claimed to be a spokesman for the group, issued a statement on social media saying the attack was part of “operation clean up” that will be intensified.
“It is a warning to all those who are part of a settler program. And those part of this program will be targeted,” he said, referring to alleged attempts to alter the region’s demography.
The revocation of Jammu & Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in August 2019 through the nullification of the Constitution’s Article 370 ended restrictions on non-residents from buying property in the region and getting government jobs.
The latest targeted attack came hours after four soldiers were killed and two others injured when two terrorists attempted to storm an army camp at Pargal in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district days before India celebrates 75 years of Independence.
The attack on the camp was the first such strike since 2018 when terrorists attacked an army camp at Sunjuwan in Jammu and left six soldiers and a civilian dead.
There has been a spike in violence in Jammu & Kashmir this year with mostly civilians including migrant workers being at its receiving end. On Wednesday, Jammu & Kashmir Police said they averted an attack by recovering a 25kg improvised explosive device in Pulwama.