Al Mansoorian: A Deadly Shadow of Lashkar (LeT) Looms Large over Jammu and Kashmir
By Animesh Roul
A prolonged gun battle ( lasting for 27 hours ) in the business hub of Budshah Chowk, in Srinagar, between suspected Al Mansoorian’s suicide squad members and security personnel, claimed the lives of seven security men, a lone civilian and two militants. The gun battle ended on Oct. 5, afternoon. Approximately 30 people sustained injuries in the suicide attack. Spokesperson of the Al-Mansoorian outfit (also Al Mansooreen) Aamir Mir, claiming the responsibly of the attack, identified the two terrorists killed as Tariq Ahmed Bhat and Mohammad Mushtaq.
The following day Al Mansoorian (AM) strike again and this time by beheading a civilian (decapitation, Al Qaeda style) of Mohammad Shafi Mir for his alleged link with Indian security forces.
Al Mansoorian, termed as a shadow outfit / an offshoot of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) of Pakistan, is quite active in Jammu and Kashmir and has been attacking security forces and Government infrastructures and civilians since 2002, colluding with other Islamic terrorist outfits. The first high profile suicide attack claimed by A-M was carried out on May 14, 2002 in the Kaluchak cantonment area in Jammu. More than 30 people including women and children were killed and 47 others were injured. The slain terrorists were identified later as foreign mercenaries from Pakistan’s Faisalabad and Gujranwala areas. Investigations also showed that food items found from the terrorists were purchased from Zaffarwal in Pakistan and militants had reportedly infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Samba area.
Although LeT has been outlawed in India and Pakistan, it has been perpetrating terrorist strikes in India under different banners that include Al-Mansoorian.
Major terror strikes perpetrated by Al Mansoorian in J&K:
Dec. 3, 2004: AM terrorists attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) guarded Special Operations Group (SOG) camp in Sopore, killing five CRPF personnel.
July 29, 2005: AM militants lobbed grenades and resorted to indiscriminate firings that killed two security personnel and injured 22 others, including seven journalists near the Budshah Chowk area of Srinagar.
Oct. 18, 2005: Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone was killed at his Tulsibagh area residence in Srinagar. Two Islamic groups – Islamic Front and Al-Mansoorian – claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.
May 21, 2006: Seven people killed and 25 others injured in the attack when armed Mansoorian terrorists in Police uniforms attacked a Youth Congress rally at Sher-e-Kashmir Park in Srinagar.
Al-Mansoorian was categorized as foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the United States under the Executive Order 13224 in December 2003. According to it, AM is a pseudonym of LeT. In addition, in May 2005, the United Nation also has proscribed LeT (under UN resolution 1267) along with all its allies including Al Mansoorian.