Punjab, Pakistan

Unknown gunmen are back in the news as a retired Pakistani brigadier was shot dead in Punjab's Jhelum district late Monday (June 17), as per media reports. Amir Hamza, who was also an operative of Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), came under attack by four unidentified gunmen riding on two motorcycles. The four men opened indiscriminate fire on the ISI member and fled the scene after ensuring their target was dead. Hamza was travelling in his car, along with his wife and daughter, when the attack took place and they also received minor injuries.

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In a statement given to police, Hamza's wife claimed her husband had no personal enmity with anyone. On the other hand, police are considering the murder as a targeted killing.

Who is Amir Hamza?

Amir Hamza was on the target list of Indian counter-terror agencies for long. He was believed to be the mastermind behind the 2018 attack on the Sunjwan army camp in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The attack had left six soldiers dead and 12 others critically injured.

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Hamza was believed to be an operative of the ISI and he had last served as director general of Pakistan's Emergency Services Academy. According to reports, he was also involved in other anti-India terror activities.

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Hamza is the second Pakistan-based individual linked to the Sunjwan army camp attack to have been killed by unknown men.

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Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Khwaja Shahid, alias Mia Mujahid, who was also linked to the 2018 attack, was found beheaded near the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Previous such killings

Hamza's death is the latest in a series of killings involving Pakistanis connected to ISI-controlled terrorist activities in India.

Back in December, Adnan Ahmed, also known as Abu Hanzala, who was a senior commander of LeT and responsible for planning attacks on security convoys in Kashmir, was shot dead by unknown assailants in Karachi.

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Earlier, in October, Shahid Latif, a terrorist from Jaish-e-Muhammed who was the main handler of the group that attacked the Pathankot airbase in 2016, was killed in a mosque in Sialkot by unidentified gunmen.

(With inputs from agencies)