LeT Behind Amarnath Terror Attack, 3 Arrested, Says J&K Police

The attack was initially planned on 9 July, but there was no movement of CRPF or yatri vehicle in isolation that day

Security personnel keeping a vigil as pilgrims head towards Kashmir to pay obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine. Image used for representation.

(Photo: PTI)

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Munir Khan said on Sunday that the attack on Amarnath pilgrims was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants. He added that the accused have been identified.

(Abu) Ismail, a Pakistan militant of Lashkar along with two other militants and a local Kashmiri Lashkar militant carried out the attack. Accused people who provided them logistics to carry out their plans in the state and work as their guides have been identified. Three accused people have been arrested and they have revealed everything

Munir Khan

Another militant in the group of four had been identified as Yawar, a local recruiter for the LeT, police said. Efforts are on to identify the other two, believed to be Pakistanis. Police released pictures of Abu Ismail and Yawar.

Also Read: Amarnath Yatra Is Usually a Watertight System. What Went Wrong?

Khan also said that two LeT militants were eliminated a couple of days ago and their involvement in this particular case is still being investigated.

The attack was initially planned for 9 July, but on that particular day there was no movement of CRPF or yatri vehicles in isolation, added Khan.

They had code word ‘Shaukat’ for yatri vehicle, ‘Bilal’ for CRPF vehicle. It was purely a terrorist act

Munir Khan

The accused, who have been produced before court, are currently in remand.

Also Read: Amarnath Yatris Have Faced Attacks Before: A Short History

In addition to these four militants, led by Ismail, there were three "co-conspirators" - Bilal Ahmed Reshi, Aizaj Wagey and Zahoor Ahmed - who had carried out reconnaissance exercises and chosen Botengo near Khanbal as the spot where the attack could be carried out, the police added.

The trio had also provided shelter to the four militants in Khudwani and Sriguffwara of South Kashmir, Khan said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police had constituted an Special Investigation Team led by Deputy Inspector General (South Kashmir) Swayam Prakash Pani to probe the attack on the pilgrims.

In a rare attack on the Amarnath Yatra, terrorists killed seven pilgrims and injured 19 others, including policemen, when they struck a bus carrying them in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on 10 July. Of those killed, five were from Gujarat and two from Maharashtra.

The bus was attacked in Batengoo while it was returning from Baltal to Mir Bazar after darshan, J&K police and CRPF sources said. The militants also carried out two attacks on security forces in the area.

Police sources said the bus did not have any police escort. The attack was seen as the worst on the annual pilgrimage since 2000.

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