'Unknown gunmen' killed over 30 LeT terrorists in Pakistan: Top Lashkar operative admits in rare video | WATCH

The mystery surrounding a series of targeted killings of terrorists inside Pakistan has received a rare public acknowledgement from within Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) itself.

In a video that has surfaced on social media, senior LeT operative Rizwan Hanif claims that more than 30 members of the Pakistan-based terror outfit have been killed by "unknown men" across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) over the past three to four years.

This is the first time a senior operative linked to the terrorist organisation has publicly admitted that so many members of the outfit have been eliminated in targeted attacks inside Pakistan.

Hanif says the killings took place in Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad.

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Indian security agencies verified the authenticity of the video and confirmed that Hanif is a senior Lashkar terrorist wanted by India, according to NDTV.

Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations in 2005 for its links to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Mahesh Jethmalani shared the video on X, saying the roles appeared to have reversed for terrorists who had long targeted India.

"For once, the terrorists are terrorised. And apparently, the unknown gunman remains unavailable for comment," he wrote. "In a newly surfaced video, senior LeT commander Rizwan Hanif claims that more than 30 terrorists have been mysteriously eliminated over the past three to four years and accuses Indian agencies of operating an 'unknown gunman model'."

"The irony is exquisite. Men who trained killers, infiltrated borders and celebrated the murder of innocent Indians are now looking over their shoulders, wondering who might arrive next."

PATTERN OF TARGETED KILLINGS

Hanif's admission comes months after Hamza Burhan, believed to be one of the masterminds of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May this year.

Burhan, also known as Arjumand Gulzar Dar alias Doctor, was designated a terrorist by India in April 2022 for his role in multiple terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. He had reportedly been living undercover as a teacher in PoJK after the Pulwama attack.

Burhan, who was serving as principal of a private college in Muzaffarabad's Gojra, was attacked at close range after stepping out of the college.