Pakistan: Senior LeT commander found dead in Islamabad mosque
What's the story
A senior commander of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Qari Saeed Abdul Aziz, was found dead under suspicious circumstances at a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. The incident took place at the Quba Mosque, where Aziz had arrived to offer prayers. Before reaching the mosque, he had eaten food from an unfamiliar restaurant. He suddenly collapsed at the mosque's gate and died on the spot.
Role and admissions
LeT operative's shocking admissions about deaths of members
Aziz was responsible for the department in LeT that provided support to families of terrorists killed in encounters in Jammu and Kashmir.
His sudden death comes just days after a senior LeT operative, Rizwan Hanif, made shocking admissions about the deaths of over 30 members by "unknown men" within Pakistan.
In a video statement, Hanif revealed that many members have been killed across different regions, including Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad over the past three to four years.
Sanctions and confession
Public admission of such killings
The Lashkar-e-Taiba was sanctioned by the United Nations in 2005 for its links with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
However, this is the first time a member of the group has publicly admitted to such killings.
Hanif's admission highlights the group's public admission of such killings, which have been linked to major terrorist attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.