In the ever-evolving terror dynamics in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani terror groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) have floated new outfits, including one comprising stone-pelters to ramp up terrorism in the Valley.

The Tahreek-e-Sangbaz is one of the latest avatars of the Pakistani terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad to carry out hits, including lone-wolf attacks, especially against security forces.

In the last few months, attacks against the security forces including Jammu and Kashmir Police have witnessed a surge, particularly in Srinagar.

Sangbaz means stone pelters and the Tahreek-e-Sangbaz could be mainly recruiting stone-pelters, released earlier by the government as a goodwill gesture, to carry out hits in Kashmir.

The activities of the Tahreek-e-Sangbaz have been noticed by the agencies soon after The Resistance Front (TRF) suffered a major blow with the liquidation of its top commander Abbas Sheikh who was driving the terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir capital Srinagar.

Sheikh was the key terrorist maintaining a large network of over ground workers (OGWs) as also terror cadres and his killing by the Forces dealt a major blow to the Jaish project, officials from Srinagar said.

New terror entities like Kashmir Tigers and Islamic State Wilayat Hind are also part of the latest Pakistani strategy to ramp up terrorism in the Valley, they said.

Amid the spiraling terrorist violence in the Valley, the Centre had in October despatched over 5,000 more troops (50 companies, 25 each of the BSF and CRPF) to quell the terrorist violence there including in capital Srinagar, against both civilians and Forces, as reported earlier by The Pioneer.

Last week, the Jammu and Kashmir administration effected a major reshuffle in the district police hierarchy across the Valley and, transferred and posted 27 Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP), Superintendents of Police (SP) and Additional Superintendents of Police (ASP).

The Kashmir Tigers is also a Jaish Front and had claimed responsibility for the Kakapora police station grenade attack in Pulwama. The ISWH had claimed responsibility for carrying out a lone wolf hit and wounding a traffic policeman in Rajouri Kadal area of Srinagar. The pistol used to target a non-local Hindu street food vendor in Srinagar in October was also used in the lone wolf attack in Rajouri Kadal.

ISWH is also a Pakistani project to keep the terror pot boiling and also deny its role in the same. The Islamic State is essentially engaged in radicalization and recruitment of cadres for its territorial ambitions in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya among other countries. The IS does not have any known intention to grab territory in the country, experts said.

Likewise, the United Liberation Front (ULF) had claimed responsibility for the attack on migrant workers in south Kashmir’s Anantnag in October.

The attacks against non-Muslim migrants was also part of the shifting terror tactic in terrorism in the Valley being mounted in the Union Territory by Pakistan Army-ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) combine in concert with their terror cohorts like LeT and JeM, officials added.