SRINAGAR: Houses of two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists allegedly involved in the Pahalgam attack were destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Friday.
The houses were destroyed in a blast on Thursday night.
The officials said security forces were conducting searches inside the houses of two LeT terrorists Adil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh when the explosives already kept inside the houses went off.
The explosives caused destruction of the houses, they added.
Thokar, a resident of south Kashmir's Anantnag district, is one of the key accused in Tuesday's Pahalgam massacre, while Sheikh, resident of Tral in Pulwama district, is suspected to be involved in the conspiracy of the attack.
Thokar has been declared the most wanted, and the Anantnag Police have offered a reward of Rs 20 lakh for any specific information leading to his arrest. Two Pakistani nationals were also declared most wanted in the case.
Adil had illegally travelled to Pakistan in 2018, where he reportedly received terror training before returning to Jammu and Kashmir last year.
Meanwhile, two security personnel were injured in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Bandipora district, police said on Friday morning.
This comes amid uproar over terrorists attacking tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22, killing 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen while leaving several others injured.
Following the terror attack, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides.
The incident has sparked nationwide outrage, with widespread protests erupting across the country, demanding stricter action against Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
