Shahid Latif, a top aide to Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and mastermind of the 2016 Pathankot Indian Air Force base attack, and his brother were shot dead at a mosque in Pakistan's Sialkot district on Wednesday, officials said.


Latif, 53, and his brother Haris Hashim were shot indiscriminately by three motorcycle-borne men as they left the Noor Madina mosque in Daska after pre-dawn prayers, officials aware of the development said.
Escorted by his heavily armed guards, Latif and his brother were killed on the spot in the mosque compound.

According to an Associated Press report from Lahore, the gunmen pretended to be worshipers to enter the mosque complex.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but local police chief Hassan Iqbal said it appeared Latif had been deliberately targeted. According to AP, the police chief did not provide more detailed information.

Latif alias Bilal alias Noor Al Din, designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was the Jaish-e-Mohammed commander in Sailkot and was involved in planning, facilitating and executing terrorist attacks in India.

Latif entered Kashmir in 1993 as part of the Hakar-ul-Ansari terror group from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, officials said. However, a year later he was arrested and sent to Kol Balwal Jail, Jammu.