NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), continuing its investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack, has identified over a dozen Over-Ground Workers.
Eight of them are from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and three each belong to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). They are suspected of aiding the terrorists in executing the attack, sources said on Monday.
Sources said, based on intelligence inputs, nearly 60 terrorists are active in the Kashmir Valley. However, the NIA has zeroed in on over a dozen of them, and they are now under the agency’s radar as the investigation into the Pahalgam terror case progresses.
The NIA has identified them from among the list shared by the Intelligence Bureau following recording of the statements of survivors of the terror attack, which claimed 26 lives and left several others injured, in their respective home states.
Of the 14 active terrorists on the NIA's suspect list, most are in their 20s and joined Pakistan-based terror outfits after 2022. They are active in various districts, with five in Shopian, four in Pulwama, two in Anantnag, and one each in Sopore, Awantipora, and Kulgam.
According to sources, Ahsan Sheikh of LeT is suspected of being involved in the Pahalgam attack, along with four others. His house has already been destroyed by security forces. The house of another suspect, Shahid Kutay, who is also associated with LeT, has also been razed.
Another terrorist JeM’s Asif Sheikh’s name has also figured in the Pahalgam terror attack and this meant that it was possible that JeM helped LeT in the killings on the directions of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI, the sources said. Sheikh’s residence in Tral was also demolished by security forces on Friday.
It is to be noted that the Jammu and Kashmir Police has already released sketches of three terrorists including two Pakistanis — Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai and Hashim Musa alias Suleiman and local operative Adil Hussain Thoker and announced Rs 20-lakh bounty each on their heads.
