A senior operative of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has claimed in a video that an unidentified individual has killed around 30 members of the banned outfit across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoK) over the past few years.
The video, which has surfaced on social media, features Rizwan Hanif, a wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist. In the footage, Hanif alleges that more than 30 members of the organisation have been killed over the last three to four years in cities including Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad.
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According to Hanif, the killings have targeted operatives of the group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which claimed 166 lives. The statement marks the first known public admission by a Lashkar-linked terrorist that several members of the organisation have been systematically killed within Pakistan.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations in 2005 due to its links with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Pakistan has maintained that the outfit was outlawed and disbanded years ago.
Indian security agencies have reportedly verified the authenticity of the video and confirmed that the individual seen is a senior Lashkar operative wanted by India.
In the video, Hanif accuses Indian agencies of orchestrating the targeted killings. India, however, has categorically rejected the allegations. No independent evidence has been made public to substantiate the claims.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
