SRINAGAR, India: Soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday (Apr 25) blew up the family homes of two men who the police alleged were among a gang that carried out the region’s deadliest attack against civilians in decades.
Indian security forces have launched a giant manhunt for those responsible for killing 26 men in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
The police said that they were members of the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations.
They have issued wanted posters with sketches of three men: Indian national Adil Hussain Thoker, as well as Pakistani citizens Ali Bhai and Hashim Musa.
They are also searching for Indian citizen Ashif Sheikh.
Members of the two Indian fugitives’ immediate families were detained for questioning after the attack, the officer and their relatives said.
Sheikh’s sister Yasmeena said soldiers cordoned off the area around the house, in Kashmir’s southern Tral area, overnight from Thursday to Friday.
“One soldier climbed over the mud compound wall of our home and climbed back after a while,” said Yasmeena, who gave only one name.
“After some time, a big frightening blast brought the house down. Everything inside is destroyed,” she said, adding that no one was inside at the time.
A police officer said soldiers also destroyed Thokar’s family home in the neighbouring Bijbehara area in the same manner early Friday.
The police said that they were part of a LeT faction called The Resistance Front (TRF).
“Both have been active for three to four years, and are part of TRF, which is an offshoot of LeT,” a police intelligence officer told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
“They are wanted militants involved in earlier attacks as well on security forces,” the officer added.
Police have offered a two million rupee (US$23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest.
