Pakistan-backed Lashkar front claims responsibility for J&K bus terror attack
What's the story
Pakistan-backed The Resistance Front (TRF), a faction of the Jihadist terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus transporting pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi area on Sunday. The bus was returning from the Shiv Khori shrine to Katra, the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, when it was attacked. Nine tourists were killed and 33 others were injured in the attack.
TRF
TRF warns of more such attacks
In a message, the separatist militant organization warned of more such attacks on tourists and non-locals, calling the Reasi attack only the "beginning of a renewed start." The TRF was designated a terrorist organization by the Indian government in 2023. The last major attack on Hindu pilgrims in the region occurred in 2017, when a bus was targeted and eight people were killed.
Search operation
NIA to probe attack
Taking into account the seriousness of the matter, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been tasked with probing the attack. A massive search operation was also launched to nab the terrorists, with drones being utilized to scour dense vegetation around the attack site, India Today reported. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) was also part of the operation.
Survivor accounts
Survivors recount terrifying ordeal, massive evacuation undertaken
Survivors of the attack reported that terrorists continued firing at the bus even after it fell into a gorge. One survivor stated, "They were 6-7 terrorists, their faces were covered with masks. When the bus fell, they came toward it and kept firing to ensure everyone was killed." "We maintained silence to make them believe (that they were dead),"one of the eyewitnesses told India Today TV. The police evacuated passengers by 8:10pm with help from local villagers.