Key Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, charge-sheeted by NIA for the 2023 Rajouri attack, shot dead; security agencies monitor developments.
March 16, 2025: Islamabad/New Delhi: Faisal Nadeem, alias Abu Qatal, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and one of India’s most wanted terrorists, was killed in Pakistan on Saturday night, according to a report by India Today.
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Qatal, a close associate of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, was charge-sheeted by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in the January 2023 Rajouri terror attack. Alongside two other Pakistan-based LeT handlers, he was accused of orchestrating civilian killings in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajouri Attack & NIA Investigation
The NIA’s charge sheet, filed under case RC-01 & 02/2023/NIA/JMU, linked Qatal and his associates to the Dhangri terror attack in Rajouri on January 1, 2023, followed by an IED blast the next day. The attack claimed seven lives, including two children, and left several others seriously injured.
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The three charge-sheeted LeT handlers were identified as:
- Abu Qatal (Faisal Nadeem)
- Saifullah alias Sajid Jutt (also known as Ali, Habibullah, and Nouman)
- Mohd Qasim (An Indian-origin terrorist who joined LeT in 2002)
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Qatal and Jutt were Pakistani nationals, while Qasim had crossed over to Pakistan in the early 2000s and became an active part of LeT’s terror network.
LeT’s Role in Terrorist Recruitment & Attacks
Investigations revealed that the trio played a key role in recruiting, training, and directing LeT terrorists from Pakistan to target civilians and security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. Their operations primarily focused on attacking minority communities and destabilizing the region.
Qatal’s killing in Pakistan comes amid increasing pressure on terror networks operating from its soil, with Indian security agencies monitoring how this impacts LeT’s operations in the region.
Tags:
Lashkar-e-Taiba, Abu Qatal killed, Rajouri terror attack, NIA investigation, Jammu and Kashmir terrorism, Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan terror networks, LeT operatives, Indian security forces, cross-border terrorism