3 BJP workers shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir; Resistance Front claims responsibility

Three BJP workers were shot dead by militants in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said.

The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a shadow group of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the killings.

Fida Hussain, Umer Hajam and Umer Rashid Beigh were shot by militants in Y K Pora area of Kulgam district late on Thursday evening, a police official said.

He said the trio was rushed to a local hospital at Qazigund where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

In a message in English and Hindi on its social media account, the TRF said "crematoriums will get overbooked".

Militants have since June stepped up attacks on BJP workers and leaders in the union territory, killing eight of them so far.

In a similar attack in Bandipora in July, a BJP leader, his father and brother were killed by the ultras.