[Update: LeT has refuted the claims by IG and said that they were not responsible for the attack.]
At least seven pilgrims returning from the Amarnath Yatra were shot dead in a terror attack in Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, 10 July. 19 pilgrims were injured. The terrorists fired on the pilgrims’ bus as well as a security vehicle. (Exact casualties are yet to be conclusively reported.)
We were sleeping, there was firing from both the sides: Victim, #Anantnag terror attack #AmarnathYatra pic.twitter.com/zX3e5BH1YJ
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2017
Initial investigation by the IGP revealed that the attack was carried out by Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The Jammu and Kashmir IGP later added that the attack was carried out by five men and was masterminded by Abu Ismail, an LeT operative from Pakistan.
#Anantnag terrorist attack. Total injured 19; all stable. This is final list of those who lost their lives. pic.twitter.com/TGoj8CpUuH
— J&K Police (@JmuKmrPolice) July 10, 2017
The attack occurred at 8:20 pm when around 70 pilgrims were returning from Baltal, one of the base camps of the pilgrimage, to Jammu. The pilgrims’ bus was surrounded on three sides by the terrorists near a security checkpost at Anantnag and fired at.
Batengoo village, where the attack occurred, is 65 km south of Srinagar.
Around 1,00,000 pilgrims have already completed the journey to the Amarnath shrine that began late last month and is due to end in late August. The journey begins from Jammu, which is 200 km from the shrine.
#WATCH Visuals from Anantnag attack site: 2 Amarnath yatra pilgrims killed, many injured after terrorists attacked their bus in Batingu(J&K) pic.twitter.com/DZORy6DWvE
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2017
All the victims were from Gujarat
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told reporters that all the victims were from Gujarat; five of the dead were women.
UPDATE: #AmarnathYatra pilgrims killed in #Anantnag terror attack belonged to Gujarat, according to top govt sources
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 10, 2017
The bodies of the deceased and the 19 injured have been airlifted to New Delhi. The victims’ bodies will reach Surat, Gujarat on Tuesday.
Six people from Gujarat’s Valsad have lost their lives in Anantnag terror attack: Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani #AmarnathYatra pic.twitter.com/Mgnyqlh2Z9
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2017
Home Minister to chair high-level security meeting
Mobile data services have been suspended in Jammu. Only BSNL broadband services with limited speed is working.
The Amarnath Yathra itself continues, with tighter security arrangements. CRPF escort vehicles have been increased by 50%. A high-level central team led by minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir will also visit Jammu and Kashmir to assess the security of the pilgrimage.
A high-level meeting will also take place at Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, top officials of the home ministry, intelligence agencies and central paramilitary forces are also attending the meeting. The meeting will take stock of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, security of Amarnath pilgrims and how to prevent such possible attacks in the future, official sources told PTI.
LeT responsible
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which provides security for the two-month-long Amarnath pilgrimage, said gunmen first opened fire on a security checkpoint but no injuries were reported.
The CRPF said in a statement that militants further attacked the pilgrims’ bus at Batengoo and escaped towards Arwani. Close to 20 people, including security personnel, were injured.
Visuals from the hospital where injured #AmarnathYatra pilgrims have been admitted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag post terror attack. pic.twitter.com/lqjL6fetfd
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2017
A New Delhi-based security official, speaking anonymously, told AFP that security personnel were exploring “all the angles including suspected Islamists”.
The police in Kashmir say the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the attack and the mastermind was a Pakistani terrorist, Abu Ismail. The attack was carried out by five men and was masterminded by Abu Ismail, an LeT operative from Pakistan.
Bus might not have been registered
Police claim the bus driver had violated rules for the pilgrimage, which state that no yatra vehicle should be on a highway after 7 pm. According to a CRPF statement, the bus was not part of the official yatra and not registered with the Amarnath Shrine Board. The bus was carrying pilgrims back from Baltal after performing the yatra.
Speaking to CNN News 18 channel, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that the bus the pilgrims were in was not registered with the Amarnath Yatra Board. “This is something everyone knows, that you are not travel without security and yet this happened. The gover…
