Wanted 'Shoot-And-Scoot' Lashkar Terrorist Likely Behind Attack On CRPF In Kashmir

Jammu: Security agencies suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammad Latief Bhat alias Lateef Bhat, Kashmir valley's most wanted terrorist, to be behind the latest attack on a CRPF naka party in Kulgam on Wednesday.The attack followed a familiar, chilling pattern - a sudden burst of fire and a swift escape - before the forces could nab him. Then the terrorist would mingle with the population.Investigators say the shoot-and-scoot method is identical to the series of terror attacks carried out in July, pointing to the same hand behind the trigger. Bhat along with other terrorists had opened indiscriminate fire at a CRPF checkpoint, injuring three of them.On CCTV accessed by the Police, CRPF personnel were seen taking cover and in 15 seconds 30 bullets were fired. A strong retaliatory response by the CRPF led Lateef to run from the spot and hide somewhere nearby.Crucially, cartridge casings recovered from the Kulgam attack site have matched those recovered from prior attacks, strengthening the suspicion that Bhat and his group were involved.Sources said Bhat, a resident of Kulgam, is believed to be operating alongside Pakistani terrorists, moving between hideouts in South Kashmir with the help of a network of overground workers.Bhat is already implicated in a string of terror attacks this year, including the July 22 killing of a police constable in Lal Chowk area of Anantnag and the July 31 killing of migrant workers in Kulgam.After killing the labourers, Bhat was asked by his handlers across the border to lie low for some time, which he did and then quietly rebuild his network. Fresh intelligence inputs said terrorists in the valley have once again been instructed to do something "big".The Kulgam attack could be the beginning of that renewed terror push. In response, security forces have launched massive questioning of overground workers (OGWs) across South Kashmir to crack Bhat's support network. Four days back, the had also released posters carrying his photograph, announcing a reward of Rs 15 lakh for information about his movement and his overground network.Lateef Bhat Was Recently Spotted In SrinagarFresh inputs suggest Lateef Bhat was recently spotted in Srinagar and that is exactly why the police plastered his posters across the city, urging people to share information about his movement and whereabouts.Along with Bhat, the posters also carried details of three other wanted terrorists from Baramulla, who are presently operating from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).Who Is Lateef Bhat?Lateef Bhat is from The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar that surfaced after an encounter in Shopian during which he, along with Lashkar commander Zakir Ganai, was trapped by security forces. During the five-day-long encounter, security forces killed Zakir while Bhat managed to flee.Agencies suspected that since then Bhat has reactivated sleeper cells to carry out targeted killings of non-locals and security personnel at the behest of handlers across the border.A resident of Kulgam in South Kashmir, Bhat studied up to Class 12 at Government Higher Secondary School, Ashmuji, and later joined Government Degree College, Kulgam. He dropped out midway and began working as a carpenter at a beading-machine unit in Khrewan.He went missing from home on November 19, 2025, prompting his family to file a missing person report at Kulgam police station. Investigators say he had by then slipped underground and joined TRF, allegedly radicalised by terrorist Zakir Ahmad.