Two labourers from Uttar Pradesh were killed in a grenade attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Monday, the police said.

The labourers were identified as Monish Kumar and Ram Sagar, both residents of Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh. They sustained multiple splinter injuries in the attack, and were taken to a nearby hospital, where they died, according to The New Indian Express.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police said that a hybrid militant behind the attack was arrested by security forces. He was identified as Imran Bashir Ganie and is associated with the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, the police claimed.

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Hybrid militants are those who carry out attacks and subsequently continue to pose as civilians.

Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that another suspect involved in the attack has been arrested and raids are being carried out at multiple locations to find those involved in the killing.

After the attack, personnel from the police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Army rushed to the area and began a cordon and search operation to look for the militants.

The two men who died were living in a tin shed and the attackers dropped the grenade at night, Kumar said. “We will soon neutralise the Lashkar-e-Taiba men who were behind this attack,” he added.

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said that she was distressed to learn about the attack. “At the risk of sounding repetitive, there is no sense of security and dignity for anyone living in J&K,” she said. “These issues will be resolved only when [the Centre] acknowledges that they exist.”

The National Conference said that it unreservedly condemns the attack. “Our condolences go out to their families and friends,” it said. “May their souls rest in eternal peace.”

The attack on the labourers comes two days after a Puran Krishan Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit, was shot dead by suspected militants in the Chowdhary Gund area of the Shopian district.

According to the police, the Kashmir Freedom Fighters, a militant outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack.