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Lashkar-e-Taiba

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Lashkar-e-Toiba or Lashkar-i-Taiba (the Army of the Pure) (formed 1990) is a terrorist [1] Islamist group based in Muzaffarabad (Kashmir) [2] and active in carrying out attacks on Indian armed forces and civilians in Kashmir. It is considered the armed wing of Pakistan based Markaz Dawa-Wal-Irshad (the Centre for Religious Learning and Propagation), an organisation with Islamist views of the Wahabi sect of Islam. US Secretary of State Colin Powell in a notification on December 26, 2001 designated the outfit as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Lashkar's professed ideology goes beyond merely challenging Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir. In a pamphlet entitled "Why Are We Waging Jihad?" the group defined its agenda as the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India. It seems that in their view, the restoration of Secularism in India after the collapse of the Islamic rule of the Islamic Mughal Emperor of Aurangzeb was a historic wrong they seek to set right. Lashkar-e-Toiba is believed responsible for the series of massacres on August 1-2,2000, in which more than 100 people, most of who were unarmed civilians, were killed.

Lashkar-e-Toiba has an estimated strength of 300 combatants and is believed to be headed by Mohammed Latif. It operates in the Srinagar valley and the districts of Poonch, Rajauri and Doda. It is active in other parts of India, especially New Delhi, and northen states. It is believed to run training camps at Kotli, Sialkot and Samani in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Azad Kashmir).

Lashkar-e-Toiba has accomplished some suicide bombing against Indian military and civilian targets. The first suicide attacks was targeted at a residential complex of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in Bandipore near Srinagar. The most spectacular of these missions was the attack on the headquarters of the Special Operations Group (SOG) on December 27, 1999. By 2002 an estimated 250 Indian troops have been killed in these attacks.

India accuses Lashkar-e-Toiba of practising ethnic cleansing directed against Hindu residents of Kashmir, particularly in the Jammu Valley. There is independent evidence to support this allegation. On March 20, 2000, for example, Lashkar-e-Toiba killed 35 Hindu civilians at Chattisinghpora, and there have been other similar incidents.

Pakistan denies responsibility for Lashkar-e-Toiba's activities, but India alleges evidence relating to its non-military wing's fund raising activities in Pakistan indicates otherwise. Recent peace efforts by the Musharaf administration have led to a crackdown of operations by the group, reduced operations and a change in name to Tehrik-e-Furqan.

It has been accused by India of involvement in the December 13, 2001 attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi.

On January 16 2004, Randall Todd Royer, age 30, of Falls Church, Virginia, pleaded guilty to federal weapons and explosives charges in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. Royer is one of 11 men originally charged in the case. Another is Ibrahim Ahmed al-Hamdi, age 26, of Alexandria, Virginia. Both were said to be members of Lashkar-e-Toiba and were part of a group of men who played paintball in the Virginia countryside to prepare for training that could have targeted the United States, according to government prosecutors.

In 2005, Lashkar-e-Toiba was "banned" by the United Nations "for its links with Al Qaida".

Major Incidents involving Lashkar-e-Toiba

2004

  • November 17: Two militants of the Harkat-ul-Jehadi-e-Islami (HuJI) were reportedly shot dead by foreign mercenaries of the LeT to thwart the former’s attempt to surrender before security forces in Poonch district.
  • June 26: A group of militants, reportedly a combination of LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's (HM) Pir Panjal Regiment (HMPPR), attacked village Teli Katha in upper reaches of Marha in Surankote tehsil (administrative unit) of Poonch district killing 11 civilians including three children and two teenagers and injuring 10 others.
  • June 25: In the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba militants killed the abducted railway engineer, Sudhir Kumar Pundeer, and his brother.
  • June 16: A US court sentences three persons for conspiring to aid the LeT. Federal Judge Leonie M Brinkema imposed life imprisonment on Masood Khan, an 85-year term on Seifullah Chapman and a 97-month sentence for Abdur Raheem. All three were members of the 'Virginia jihad network'.
  • April 15: A 21-year-old Pakistani student in Australia was charged with receiving training from the Lashkar-e-Toiba. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said in a statement that the man was arrested and later refused bail by a local criminal court. He is believed to be the first person charged under Australian terrorist laws introduced after 9/11.

2003

  • December 23: The US Secretary of State redesignates the Lashkar-e-Toiba as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.


  • November 15: Jamaat-ud-Dawa (the new name for Lashkar-e-Toiba [LeT]) is placed on the 'watch list' under the Anti-Terrorist Act 1997.
  • September 10: Five Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including the LeT, which were proscribed by President Pervez Musharraf on January 12, 2002, are currently functioning openly under changed identities, according to the Pakistan-based Herald.
  • July 22: A three-member fidayeen (suicide squad) storms an army camp killing eight security force personnel, including a Brigadier, and injuring 12 others, including four top Generals, a Brigadier and two Colonels at village Bangti on the Tanda road in Akhnoor. The Al-Shahuda Brigade, suspected to be a front organisation of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, claims responsibility for the attack.
  • July 3: Eight persons arrested in the US on June 27 for their alleged support to the LeT to train and participate in Jehad in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir plead not guilty in a district court in Virginia
  • June 30: A District Court of Alexandria in US orders release of Masoud Ahmad Khan, who was arrested on an unspecified date, on charges of recruiting, training and helping LeT militants for subversive activities in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • June 28: A 41-count Federal Grand Jury indictment is turned against 11 LeT militants who have been charged with conspiracy to "prepare for and engage in violent jehad" against foreign targets in Kashmir, Philippines and Chechnya. The 11 include eight persons arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania on June 27 and three others believed to be in Saudi Arabia.


  • June 27: Eight alleged LeT cadres, accused of planning terrorist acts in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, are arrested during a series of raids around the US Federal Capital of Washington, the US Justice Department said in a statement. Three other persons, reportedly living in Saudi Arabia, were also named in a 42-count Justice Department indictment.
  • Hafiz Saeed, LeT chief, rejects Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s offer to hold talks with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.
  • April 17: In a clash between cadres of the HM and LeT at Kot Behrot, Thanamandi area of Rajouri district, an LeT ‘commander’ is killed.
  • February 22: LeT militants kill two Village Defence Committee (VDC) members at Gadyog village, Kandi area, Rajouri district.
  • February 4: Lashkar-e-Toiba among three Pakistan-based terrorist groups outlawed by Russia. Authorities in Dubai shut down local office of the LeT and deport some cadres to Pakistan.
  • February 3: Media reports indicate that, in order to have a "mini replica" of the 9/11 attacks in J&K, Pakistan's ISI has directed the Lashkar-e-Toiba to use "toy planes" to target army posts and prominent personalities in the State.
  • January 28: Punjab government bans Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed from delivering any public speech in the province.
  • January 14: An LeT plot to attack Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani around Republic Day, January 26, is unearthed.
  • January 7: Suspected Lashkar militants kill three civilians, including two members of a family, in Anantnag district.
  • December 5: An LeT spokesperson says his outfit has killed the elder brother of slain Law Minister Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, outside his residence in Sogam village, Lolab area of Kupwara district. Mushtaq Lone was assassinated along with his two personal security officers during an election rally in Tikkipora village, 8km from his Sogam residence, on September 11.


  • December 4: LeT announces a four-day cease-fire with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of the holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr.
  • December 3: The 36-hour-long siege of a village mosque in Sheikh Gund, Shangus, Anantnag district, ends with surrender of the lone terrorist––‘battalion commander’ Bashir Ahmed Ganai alias Asif––who laid the siege.
  • November 24: 13 persons are killed and 45 more injured as two LeT fidayeen simultaneously attack two Hindu shrines––the Raghunath and Panjbakhtar temples––in Jammu. Two fidayeen, who had stormed the Raghunath temple, are killed by SFs.
  • November 18: Lahore High Court declares that the detention of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, LeT chief, is unlawful and orders his immediate release if not required in any other case.
  • November 8: Hafiza Memona, wife of LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, files contempt petition against Federal and Punjab governments in the Lahore High Court for lying to the court regarding his custody.
  • September 18: Al-Arifeen, an alleged LeT front, claims responsibility for the killing of two NC leaders in Srinagar.
  • September 11: An unidentified spokesperson of the Abu Qasim group of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) informs the local media its cadre Abu Veqas had led the group that carried out the assassination of State Law Minister Mushtaq Ahmed Lone during the day in Kupwara.
  • August 23: Suspected LeT militants massacre 10 civilians, including three women, in two separate incidents in Thana Mandi and Manajakote areas of Rajouri district.
  • August 2: Lawyer representing Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the LeT chief, petitions to the Lahore High Court seeking his client's release, saying that he had been held illegally by the government.
  • January 26: Afghan security forces seize an LeT arms cache from a village in Zarkano district of Kunar province, close to the border with Pakistan.
  • January 22: Suspected LeT militants kill Mohammed Najeeb alias Nadeem at Salwa in Poonch district. Nadeem, a former SPO and an LeT activist, is suspected to have led a terrorist group that massacred 11 civilians at Behra on January 20. Nadeem was killed by his associates fearing that his arrest would implicate the outfit.
  • January 20: Suspected militants of the LeT, including a former Special Police Officer (SPO) eight children, a woman and two men, and injure three others at Behra in Poonch. The killers are led by a native of the district, Mohammed Najeeb alias Nadeem, a former SPO.

2001

  • December 26: The United States formally categorises the LeT and the JeM on the State Department's list of officially designated terrorist organisations.
  • December 24: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) freezes LeT accounts.
  • December 24: Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, LeT Chief resigns shortly after Pakistan froze the outfit’s assets in line with an earlier move by the United States. Maulana Abdul Wahid of Poonch, J&K, named as new chief. Markaz al-Dawa wal-Irshad (MDI), parent organisation of the LeT, rechristened as Jamaat al-Dawa.
  • December 14: LeT denies reports of its involvement in the December 13-attack on the Indian Parliament in which 12 persons, including six militants, were killed.
  • December 13: Delhi police officials suspect that the LeT provided logistical assistance to the JeM in carrying out the attack on Parliament.
  • October 22: Four LeT fidayeen attack the Awantipora base of the Indian Air Force (IAF). All four were killed and so were two civilians. Two SF personnel were injured.
  • September 17: SF personnel sleeping inside the basement of a building in Handwara, Kupwara, attacked by two LeT fidayeen using grenades. Nine SF personnel and one fidayeen were killed. The fidayeen manage to escape after the attack.
  • August 28: An attempt by LeT militants to massacre 25 civilians foiled by SFs. The militants had abducted the civilians from Chatru, Doda and ordered them to march to the near-by forests. Consequent to securing information on the abductions, SFs intercepted the group forcing the abductors to flee.
  • August 23: Six LeT militants attack Poonch police station. Seven police personnel are killed. The militants managed to escape without any casualties. Two of these militants were later tracked down and killed on August 26.
  • August 20: Two LeT fidayeen killed near Jammu airport. The two were suspected to be heading to the airport to launch a suicide attack.
  • August 7: Three suspected LeT fidayeen open fire inside the Jammu Railway station. 12 persons, including one fidayeen were killed. The other fidayeen managed to escape after the attack.
  • August 2: LeT militants massacre 15 civilians at Shroti Dhar, Doda.
  • July 15: Four LeT militants attack a SF base at Shahlal, Kupwara. Five SF personnel were killed and eight others injured in the attack. The fidayeen manage to escape after the attack.
  • April 14: LeT militants attack on Army base at Lassipora, Kupwara. Six SF personnel were killed and seven others injured in the attack. The fidayeen manage to escape after the attack.
  • March 2: Fifteen SF personnel and two civilians were killed and nine SF personnel injured when militants ambush a SF party at Morha Chatru, Rajouri. The LeT later claims responsibility for the attack saying that the attack was carried out jointly with HM, JeM and the Hizb-e-Islami.
  • February 9: A fidayeen squad drawn from LeT and the Al Umar Mujahideen attack a police control room in Srinagar. Eight personnel were killed. All the four fidayeen were also killed during the incident.
  • January 16: A six member LeT squad storm Srinagar Airport. The attackers kill four SF personnel and two civilians before other SF personnel kill all six.

2000


  • December 22: LeT fidayeen launch an attack within the army garrison at Red Fort in New Delhi. All members of the squad escape after the attack. Three security force personnel were killed. Police kill one of the fidayeen and arrest another on December 26. The other four, involved in the attack escaped.
  • August 10: LeT militants perpetrate two consecutive bomb attacks in Srinagar. Consequent to the lobbing of a grenade and a gathering of security forces in the area, a car bomb exploded. 12 SF personnel and two civilians, including a journalist were killed and 42 others injured.
  • August 1-2: LeT militants, in separate attacks, massacre over 83 civilians. The massacres were carried out in the districts of Kupwara, Doda and Anantnag on the eve of talks held between HM and the Union Government.
  • March 20: LeT militants along with an HM terrorist massacre 35 Sikhs at Chattisinghpora, Anantnag. The massacre is carried out on the eve of then US President, Bill Clinton’s official visit to India.

1999

  • December 27: Two LeT militants storm the J&K Police’s Special Operations Group Headquarters in Srinagar. Twelve SF personnel including an officer and the two militants were killed.


  • November 3: LeT militants, including the Srinagar ‘district commander’ launch an attack on the Army headquarters complex in Badamibagh. They first target a SF vehicle passing by, enter the complex and storm the office of the Public Relations Officer and kill Major Pushotamman. They then fortify themselves within the complex and attack personnel. At the end of the attack, 10, including the two attacking militants are killed.
  • July 19, 1999: LeT militants massacre 15 Hindus at Layata, Doda

1998

  • August 8: LeT militants massacre thirty-five labourers in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh
  • June 19: LeT militants massacre 25 Hindus in Chapnari, Doda
  • April 18: LeT militants massacre 27 Hindus at Prankote, Doda

1997

  • June 24: LeT militants massacre eight Hindus in Swari, Rajouri
  • January 25-26: In separate attacks, LeT militants massacre 17 Hindus in Sumber, Doda and 25 Kashmiri pandits in Wundhama, Srinagar

'1996

  • January 5: LeT militants massacre 16 Hindus at Barshalla, Doda


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