Incident Summary:

9/1/2002: Suspected Muslim militants abducted Ghulam Mohammad Bhat from his home in Ayhtmulla village, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Bhat was a leader of the National Conference (NC). His decapitated body was found the next day in a field near his village; it took several hours of searching to locate his head in the same area. The incident occurred two weeks ahead of state elections.

GTD ID:
200209020002

When:
2002-09-01

Country:
India

Region:
South Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Jammu and Kashmir

City:
Near Bandipora

Location Details:
Ayhtmulla village, near Bandipora town, 60 kilometres north Srinagar

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Kidnapping)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (General)
Name of Entity National Conference
Specific Description Ghulam Mohammad Bhat from the National Conference party
Nationality of Target India
Additional Information
Hostages Yes
Number of Hostages 1
US Hostages 0
Hours of Kidnapping 6
Outcome Hostage(s) killed (not during rescue attempt)
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Melee Knife or Other Sharp Object
Weapon Details
The victim had been decapitated and the head was left in a different location from the body
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Muslim Militants (suspected) No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 1 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 1
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
Mujtaba Ali Ahmad, "Suspected Islamic rebels kill three ruling party members in Kashmir," Associated Press, September 2, 2002.
"Two ruling party activists killed, rally fired upon in Kashmir," Agence France Presse, September 2, 2002.