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| India-Pakistan |
| Indos say Lashkar behind Lone’s assassination |
| 2002-05-31 |
| Although mystery still shrouds the killing of Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone during a public rally in Srinagar on May 21, the needle of suspicion is increasingly pointing towards three Lashkar-e-Taiba thugs. Radio intercepts indicate that Abu Hadeed, along with two other associates, Abu Raheel and Abu Hamza, were assigned the task of eliminating the Hurriyat leader. The whole plan was master-minded by Jamaat-ul-Mujhideen’s chief Gulam Rasool Bhat, alias General Abdullah, who had directed Laskhar operation commander, Abu Shamas, to carry out the assassination of Abdul Gani Lone through a group, headed by Abu Hadeed. It's little tidbits like this that can establish that the Jamiat is a level up from Lashkar. They can also show the pitfalls of drawing intelligence conclusions based on small amounts of information. Since tasking flows down the chain of command, and reporting flows up, Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammad would probably correspond to independent battalions or brigades within the overall structure. An alternative interpretation would simply be a "contract" between Jamiat and Lashkar for specific missions. Shamas was previously identified as Jamiat's operations officer, however, which might indicate the entire operation to be Jamiat's and the equation to Lashkar a product of the Indian papers. A previous report seems to have nailed Abu Hadid as a Lashkar man, though, and if the terminal he was talking too was indeed on the Pak side, it would seem to indicate that the independent battalion or brigade interpretation is the correct one. The Indos would have the actual relationships worked out in detail — given six months worth of radio traffic logs the structure couldn't be hidden. Instruction to eliminate Lone had been given to Abu Hadeed by Abu Shamas, while hiding in Rajwar Forests in Kupwara in north Kashmir. Hadeed was also advised not to own the responsibility of the killing publicly besides supporting the call of strike in protest, according to the intercepts. "Colonel" Abu Shamas is one of Jamiat's district commanders. The security forces came upon the information when Hadeed was apprising his bosses in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir about the killing through Khaber communication station on Kalia Pahad. The intercepts reveal that some Laskhar commanders in PoK were annoyed about the attack but Hadeed explained to them that he had operated on the instructions from Abu Shamas. Hadeed had been specially deputed from Sopore [on the Pak side of the Line of Control] to Srinagar by Shamas a month earlier to assist Abu Raheel in the task of killing of Hurriyat leader. While quoting from the radio interceptions, the officer informed, that Abu Hadeed was present at the funeral procession of Abdul Gani Lone on May 22 all the way to the graveyard situated in the old city. So they bumped him off and then had the gall to go to the funeral? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |