Srinagar: Lashkar-e-Toiba, which initially denied its involvement in the killing of two teenage sisters in Sopore town of Baramulla district last week, has claimed the responsibility now.
Posters appeared in the Sopore town, 52 kms from here, claiming that Lashkar militants killed Arifa and Akhtar, alleging the duo of working as 'informers' for the security forces.
"… Laskhar-e-Toiba killed the girls because not only was their behaviour improper but they were also involved in a heinous crime of being informers," the posters read.
However, the veracity of the posters could not be ascertained.
The message was written on the letter head of 'Mujahideen Lashkar-e-Toiba Jammu Kashmir'.
Arifa and Akhtar, daughters of Ghulam Nabi Dar, were shot dead at around 9.00 PM last week on Monday at Muslim Peer locality in Sopore town.
Locals said more than ten 'unidentified gunmen' had arrived that night and cordoned off the locality, however, police said only three militants including two locals were involved.
The posters, which were written in Urdu language, claimed that the girls were given a prior warning 'to mend their ways, which they didn't'.
Police said two local militants – Wasim Ganaie and Muzaffar Naikoo – and a Pakistani militant had shot the two girls dead.
The killing drew widespread condemnation and even the spokesman of the Lashkar, Abdullah Ghaznavi, denounced the action and sought to put the blame on security forces.