Technical evidence, local inputs: How Indian forces are closing in on terrorists behind Pahalgam attack

The manhunt for the three terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack entered its eighth day today. (PTI)

The manhunt for the three terrorists involved in the heinous attack on unsuspecting civilians, killing 26 of them and injuring several others, has gathered pace with Indian security agencies and Jammu and Kashmir police said to be closing in on the attackers.

As per officials, teams of the Indian Army, the Rashtriya Rifles and paramilitary forces are scanning the upper reaches of Anantnag, where the terrorists are suspected to be hiding. The Indian Express quoted a source in the Jammu and Kashmir Police as saying that they are using technical evidence and inputs from local tribal communities to aid in their hunt for the terrorists.

As per security agencies, of the three terrorists believed to be behind the attack, at least two are learnt to be Pakistani nationals who entered Jammu and Kashmir a year and a half ago as part of a group of infiltrators.

The Anantnag Police has identified the two Pakistani terrorists as Ali Bhai alias Talha and Hashim Musa alias Suleiman. Their sketches along with that of local Lashkar-e-Taiba recruit Adil Hussain Thoker, believed to be the third Pahalgam attacker, were released by the police last week and a reward of Rs 20 lakh has been announced for any information leading to their arrest.

Security agencies believe that Hashim Musa alias Suleiman may have received training as a para commando in Pakistan. They further said that the terrorists are constantly on the move in the mountains, dodging the police and security forces, suggesting high level of training and battle hardiness.

They are also avoiding any direct contact with the civilian population and are not even stopping for food at any village. This aspect, they believe, signals a divergence from earlier attacks when it was easier to neutralize them because of the attackers' exhaustion and urge to contact locals for food etc.

As per security sources, the identity of the three attackers was confirmed by piecing together information provided by eyewitnesses, video footage recorded by tourists and local guides, and information available with security forces about active terrorists in the Valley.

Musa, for instance, is suspected to be involved in the Z-morh tunnel attack in Sonmarg on October 20 last year, which left seven people working with a construction firm dead.

Sources said the terrorists have been operating in the Poonch-Rajouri, Baramulla and the South Kashmir region for the past 18 months. Sources said investigators are also probing if they were involved in the October 24, 2024, Boot Pathari attack which killed three Army personnel and two porters in an ambush.

Sources said that Musa is considered to be highly trained and adept at living off the jungle and could be from among the same lot of infiltrators who have terrorised Jammu over the past three years, killing more than 50 Army personnel with precision firing and stealth.

Investigators are also looking into whether the same group was involved in the killing of three Army personnel in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district in August 2023, reported IE. The terrorists are also suspected to have been involved in an attack in Jammu’s Poonch district in May last year, wherein an Air Force personnel was killed and four others injured, sources said.