UK channel traces jihadist content to Muridke site destroyed in Operation Sindoor

A construction in Muridke broken in the Indian strike

LONDON: Sky News has traced social media accounts expressing assist for jihadist terrorist teams similar to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and al-Qaida to the precise location of the constructing in Muridke, Pakistan, which was struck by India final week in retaliation for the Pahalgam terrorist assault.A Sky News forensics and information staff geolocated to Markaz Taiba in Muridke a number of movies on TikTok, YouTube and Google which categorical assist for the LeT and “313”, referring to the 313 Brigade, al-Qaida’s navy wing in Pakistan.The movies had been posted earlier than India blew the complicated up final week. The channel confirmed the video areas utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery in and across the complicated.According to Stanford University’s mapping militants venture, members of 313 Brigade embody Taliban and allied jihadist teams, similar to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, LeT and Jaish-e-Muhammed . 313 Brigade has been behind many high-profile assaults and bombings inside Pakistan.Captions, hashtags and usernames posting these movies categorical assist for both or each the LeT and “313”. One video exhibits a person with a gun and the username states: “Lashkar Taiba – Markaz Taiba Muridke – 313 Bhai Group – Mujahid Force PK”.A TikTok video with the textual content “313” is captioned “bring your arms and ammunition and go to war”.Muskan Sangwan, senior intelligence analyst at TRAC, a terrorism analysis consortium, mentioned: “These young men posing with rifles are using 313 label as a badge for jihadist identity,” which, she mentioned, would assist with recruitment.One video with the hashtag “313 jihad” exhibits youngsters practising sword-fighting contained in the mosque, with the caption “We are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers”. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) informed Sky News: “It has been known for decades that LeT has its headquarters in Muridke.”Pakistan-based Resistance Front, an LeT proxy, initially claimed accountability for the Pahalgam assault. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, mentioned: “This appears to be a random video with background music added later – consistent with how TikTok trends often function. If this is to be considered credible evidence, we could produce millions of similar clips ourselves.” Any suggestion that the mosque was used as a base by terrorists was a “completely false social media made up hoax,” he added.