Thirty rounds tore through the Kulgam security checkpoint in just fifteen seconds.
Counter-terror forces identified Kashmir Valley's most wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, Mohammad Latief Bhat, as the mastermind behind Wednesday's coordinated assault on a Central Reserve Police Force naka party that left three personnel injured. Bhat unleashed rapid fire alongside a squad of armed militants before melting into nearby residential alleys as retaliatory fire erupted.
He escaped. But the forensics did not lie.
Ballistic analysis confirmed that empty cartridge casings recovered from the Kulgam ambush site match casings retrieved from two separate fatal terror attacks in South Kashmir in July. Security agencies confirmed Bhat operates in tandem with Pakistani handlers, slipping between safe houses across South Kashmir with logistical support from local overground worker networks.
CCTV footage examined by investigators shows the sudden ambush as it unfolded on Wednesday. CRPF troopers scrambled for cover under an immediate hail of automatic gunfire.
The attackers fired 30 bullets in 15 seconds.
CRPF personnel mounted an immediate counter-barrage from their fortified positions, forcing Bhat and his accomplices to disengage, break line, and flee toward nearby settlements. Investigators noted that the hit-and-run maneuver matches Bhat's operational signature from earlier strikes.
The shoot-and-scoot method is identical to the series of terror attacks carried out in July, pointing directly to the same hand behind the trigger.
Senior Kashmir Counter — Terror Official
Bhat stands directly implicated in the July 22 killing of a Jammu and Kashmir Police constable in the Lal Chowk sector of Anantnag, as well as the July 31 targeted execution of migrant labourers in Kulgam. Cross-border handlers subsequently ordered Bhat to halt operations, lie low, and quietly reconstitute operational cells. Intercepted intelligence alerts revealed that terror commanders stationed across the border recently issued fresh directives to local cadres to stage high-profile attacks across the valley, framing Wednesday's Kulgam ambush as the initial strike in a renewed campaign.
A native of South Kashmir's Kulgam district, Bhat completed schooling through Class 12 at Government Higher Secondary School in Ashmuji before securing admission to Government Degree College, Kulgam. He abandoned his academic degree midway to operate a beading machine as a carpenter at a commercial unit in Khrewan.
On November 19, 2025, Bhat vanished from his family residence. His relatives lodged a missing person complaint at the Kulgam police station, unaware that he had crossed into operational terror logistics after indoctrination by militant commander Zakir Ahmad.
Bhat subsequently surfaced inside The Resistance Front, an operational proxy wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba. During a five-day counter-terror siege in Shopian, security cordons pinned Bhat down alongside senior Lashkar commander Zakir Ganai. Government forces eliminated Ganai in the firefight, but Bhat breached the outer perimeter under cover of darkness. Since that escape, Bhat has coordinated sleeper networks assigned to execute targeted attacks against outside workers and security personnel.
| Operational & Profile Parameter | Official Intelligence Record |
|---|---|
| Target Suspect | Mohammad Latief Bhat alias Lateef Bhat |
| Primary Affiliation | The Resistance Front (TRF) / Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) |
| Hometown & Base | Kulgam, South Kashmir |
| Government Bounty | ₹15 Lakh |
| Key Attacks Implicated | July 22 (Anantnag Constable), July 31 (Kulgam Workers), Wednesday Naka Ambush |
| Status | Evading arrest; designated most wanted in Kashmir Valley |
Spotters recently identified Bhat moving through commercial sectors of Srinagar, prompting Jammu and Kashmir Police to plaster bounty posters across major thoroughfares in the city. The notices offer a ₹15 lakh cash bounty for actionable intelligence on Bhat's whereabouts, alongside dossiers profiling three additional wanted militants hailing from Baramulla who currently operate from bases in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
Security formations have widened round-the-clock cordons across Kulgam and neighboring South Kashmir districts, summoning dozens of suspected overground workers for formal interrogation as forensic teams conclude weapons-matching reports.