What We Know About the Attackers Who Targeted 26 Tourists in Kashmir

Indian security forces have launched a manhunt after identifying some of the suspected gunmen involved in the massacre of 26 people at a popular tourist destination in Kashmir .

The deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the restive Himalayan valley occurred on 21 April and left at least 17 people injured as well. The casualties were all men and included a foreign national and a local pony handler.

The Kashmir police have since released the names and sketches of three of the four gunmen suspected to have carried out the attack.

They declared a bounty of Rs 2m (£17,600) for information leading to the capture of the suspects, assuring that the identity of the informant would be kept secret.

The police identified the suspects as Adil Hussain Thoker from Anantnag in Kashmir and Hashim Musa alias Suleiman and Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai from Pakistan. The police claimed the suspects operated for the Lashkar-e-Taiba , a banned militant organization headquartered in Pakistan that quickly refuted any connection.

Based on eyewitness accounts, the assault in Pahalgam was conducted by four to six assailants dressed in military uniforms who appeared from a neighboring woodland area and launched their attack. a hail of bullets coming from nearby .

Individuals connected with the inquiry stated NDTV and The Indian Express it is believed that the assault was conducted by a minimum of five attackers – three from Pakistan and two from Kashmir.

The assailants came out of the pine woods surrounding the Baisaran meadow and dispersed to three locations where numerous tourists were gathered.

According to the sources, some individuals had body cameras recording the assault on the civilians.

The assailants, who fled back into the pine woods following the bloodbath, typically used body cameras "as is common nowadays," according to a statement from a Kashmir police officer. The Indian Express.

“All attacks in Jammu in the past three years have been shot through body or gun-mounted cameras. These videos are used for propaganda purposes. The LeT has come out with propaganda material using the footage,” the officer said.

Who was responsible for the attack?

Multiple Indian news sources have indicated that a not-so-well-known organization called Kashmir Resistance, which is alternatively referred to as The Resistance Front (TRF), has taken credit for the assault.

However, questions have swirled about the authenticity of that claim.

The TRF, which first emerged in 2019, is considered an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a Delhi-based think tank.

In the statement, the TRF claimed the attack was in retaliation for the Indian government’s alleged attempts to change Kashmir’s demography, not least through the issuance of over 85,000 residency certificates to non-locals.

“Consequently, violence will be directed towards those attempting to settle illegally,” it said.

The TRF first reared its head online after the Narendra Modi government r evoked the semi-autonomous status as well as statehood of Jammu and Kashmir i n August 2019 and split it into a pair of federal territories ruled directly from New Delhi.

Indian officials maintain that the TRF has links to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is listed as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US and stands accused of plotting attacks in India, most notably the three-day assault on Mumbai in November 2008.

"This is basically a front of the LeT. These are groups which have been created over the last years, particularly when Pakistan was under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force and they were trying to create a pattern of denial that they were involved in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir," Ajai Sahni, head of the South Asia Terrorism Portal, said.

The group, however, has not had any large violent incidents attributed to it in the past, Mr Sahni added.

"All TRF operations are essentially LeT operations. There will be some measure of operational freedom as to where they hit on the ground, but the sanction would have come from the LeT.”

In January 2023, the Indian authorities labeled the TRF as a terrorist group and declared Sheikh Sajjad Gul, believed to be its leader, a terrorist. Following this designation, the country’s national anti-terror body, the National Investigation Agency, issued a reward for information leading to his capture.

According to sources within Indian security agencies, Musa and Talha entered Kashmir in 2023 and were being investigated for potential links to at least two additional incidents involving attacks on non-local laborers and military personnel.

It is thought that the third suspect, Thoker, journeyed to Pakistan in 2018 with the purpose of receiving firearms training.

During the Pahalgam attack, he served as a local guide, offering logistical assistance to the "highly trained and experienced" Pakistani militants, according to the sources. The Indian Express .

India has directed its anger towards Pakistan, The neighboring city of New Delhi has frequently charged that New Delhi has been supporting armed separatist movements in the Kashmir Valley for a long time.

Following the assault, India further weakened its already strained diplomatic and commercial relationships with Pakistan. Islamabad respond with a wave of comparable actions.

Pakistan has refuted any involvement in the assault, with its leaders, including the prime minister, denying Shehbaz Sharif , labeling it as an "orchestrated conspiracy" by India.

India and Pakistan both control portions of Kashmir, yet they each assert sovereignty over the entire region. New Delhi often characterizes all insurgent activities in Kashmir as acts of terrorism supported by Pakistan. However, Pakistan refutes these claims, and numerous Muslim Kashmiris view the insurgents as key players in an indigenous independence movement.

Even though their relationship has been mostly tense, the neighbors have occasionally attempted to make peace.

Nevertheless, the most recent event has sparked concerns about a potential military confrontation along the extremely delicate borderline. This area has seen occasional outbreaks of gunfire despite multiple ceasefires aimed at reducing hostilities having been established.

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