Abu Qatal alias Faisal Nadeem, a key member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was shot dead by unknown assailants on Saturday night, in the Jhelum district of Pakistan's Punjab province, reported India Today.
Acording to the report, Abu Qatal, a wanted terrorist, was under the protection of the Pakistan army and the LeT and was travelling with his security guards, when he was shot down by unknown assailants at around 7 pm on Saturday.
The attack killed one of his security guards on the spot, while another was critically injured.
Abu Qatal was the alleged mastermind of several attacks in the Jammu and Kashmir including the 2023 Rajouri attack which killed six civilians, including two children. Qatal is also alleged to have planned the attack on a bus carrying pilgrims returning from the Shiv Khori temple in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district in June last year, killing nine people.
According to Deccan Herald, Abu Qatal was the nephew and close associate of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Saeed had appointed Qatal as LeT's Chief Operational Commander, giving him direct orders to carry out attacks in Kashmir.
Abu Qatal reportedly played a key role in recruiting and deploying Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists from across the border. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Abu Qatal had come to India in 2002-03 and was active in the Poonch-Rajouri range, along with other terrorists.
In February 2024, the NIA chargesheeted Abu Qatal in connection with the 2023 Rajouri attack, along with three Pakistan-based handlers.
The 2023 Rajouri attacks were a series of terror attacks that occurred on the 1st and 2nd of January in the Dangri village of the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. On January 1, armed men barged into the village and opened fire on the villagers, killing four people and injuring nine others.
The next day, an IED exploded near the attack site, resulting in the death of two children and injuring four others.
The political parties in Kashmir had accused the Centre's policies regarding the region, coupled with poor governance by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s administration as the reasons for the repeated terror attacks in the region.