Overview
- Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a brick kiln in Kellam (Kulgam) on Friday, killing a migrant worker identified as Deepak and critically injuring a second labourer, Bhopinder, who remains hospitalized.
- Police and security forces immediately cordoned the area and launched a large search operation to track the shooters while the Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor ordered stepped-up counterterror action.
- Multiple outlets and intelligence sources have linked the strike to The Resistance Front and Lashkar-e-Taiba networks and say threat messages and hit lists were circulated about 48 hours before the attack.
- Some agency reports said both victims later died but those claims conflict with other coverage and officials; investigators and forensic teams are continuing inquiries at the scene.
- The attack continues a recent shift toward targeted, low-visibility attacks on migrant workers that aim to spread fear, threaten local projects and could prompt tighter security and changes in worker deployment during the Amarnath Yatra.