Pahalgam massacre probe: Terrorists were trained in Pakistan; sketches released

J-K Police announce Rs 20 lakh bounty for info on terrorists involved in Pahalgam attack

Srinagar: Initial investigations into the audacious terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 people indicate that the number of terrorists involved could range from five to seven, aided by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday.According to the officials piecing together the available evidence, the role of Aadil Thokar alias Aadil Guree, a resident of Bijbehara, has emerged based on identification by the wife of one of the deceased tourists.

Officials believe that Aadil Thokar crossed over to Pakistan in 2018 where he underwent armed training with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit before infiltrating back into India to carry out attacks.The probe suggests that while four terrorists lined up the tourists at the Baisaran meadows on Tuesday before firing at them from a point-blank range, at least one to three terrorists were strategically positioned to maintain watch for any approaching security forces.

The terrorists were carrying body cameras to record their barbaric act, the officials said quoting eyewitnesses.At least six to seven pictures were shown to eyewitnesses out of which one identified Aadil as the terrorist who was pulling the trigger, the officials said, adding after the incident the terrorists vanished into the thick pine tree jungles of Pir Panjal.The officials said that while dozens of people had been rounded for questioning, efforts had been scaled up to nab the actual perpetrators of the heinous crime.

Security agencies also released the sketches of three men suspected to be involved in the terror attack. The men, all three Pakistanis, are Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha, officials said.They had code names — Moosa, Yunus and Asif — and were involved in terror-related incidents in Poonch.

Police on Wednesday announced a bounty of Rs 20 lakh for information leading to the neutralisation of terrorists involved in the gruesome killing of tourists in a Pahalgam resort of Jammu and Kashmir.Twenty-six people, including 24 tourists, were killed when terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam on Tuesday afternoon. The horrific incident is the deadliest attack in the valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The dead included two foreigners and as many locals.

“Any information leading to the neutralisation of terrorists involved in this cowardly act shall be rewarded Rs 20 lakh,” Anantnag police said in a post on its official X handle.The identity of the informer shall be kept a secret, the police added.Earlier in the day, security agencies released the sketches of three men suspected to be involved in the terror attack.

The men, all Pakistanis, are Asif Fauji, Suleman Shah and Abu Talha, officials said. They had code names Moosa, Yunus and Asif and were involved in terror-related incidents in Poonch.The sketches were prepared with the help of survivors, they said.From the pencil sketches, in black and white, they appear to be young and have beards.The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday afternoon.