A team of NIA officials on Tuesday began an investigation into the killing of the alleged mastermind behind the Pahalgam terror attack and his two associates, who were gunned down in an encounter with security forces near Srinagar, officials said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team reached the Police Control Room (PCR) in Srinagar early Tuesday to identify the bodies of the three slain terrorists, they added.
In a major breakthrough, the Army’s elite para commandos on Monday gunned down Sulieman alias Asif — the alleged mastermind of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack — along with two of his associates during an encounter at Mulnar in the Harwan area near Dachigam National Park.
The operation, codenamed Operation Mahadev, was launched after security agencies picked up a technical signal indicating the use of a satellite phone linked to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack.
The other two slain terrorists were identified as Jibran — allegedly involved in last year’s attack on the Sonamarg tunnel project — and Hamza Afghani.
The April 22 attack at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. In response, the armed forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan.
The bodies of the three terrorists were transported from the encounter site to the Police Control Room (PCR) in Srinagar late Monday night.
Officials said the NIA team is conducting the identification process by bringing in witnesses in small groups of two to three to ensure “cent per cent confirmation” that one of the deceased is Sulieman Shah.
Meanwhile, the operation remains active as intelligence inputs suggest the possible presence of another group of terrorists in the vicinity.
Jibran, one of the deceased, was allegedly involved in the October terror strike on the Sonamarg tunnel project at Gagangir, in which seven people, including a doctor, were killed.
Security forces recovered an M4 carbine, two AK rifles, and other arms and ammunition from the encounter site. (Sources)
