Amarnath Yatra terror attack: How Pakistan's Ismail, 4 other terrorists attacked unregistered bus from Gujarat in Anantnag

Anantnag: In the worst attack on Amarnath Yatra since 2001, terrorists on Monday night killed seven pilgrims, including six women, and injured 19 others as they attacked an unescorted bus from Gujarat at Khanabal in Anantnag district on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have given details of the horrifying events which unfolded in Anantnag last night and those who were behind it.

According to Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) Muneer Khan, the attack on Amaranth Yatra pilgrims was carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

Khan told news agency ANI that the attack was masterminded by Pakistan terrorist Ismail.

Meanwhile, sources have told Zee Media that the operation was carried out jointly by LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Sources reveal that the attack was carried out by Ismail and four other terrorists (two local and two Pakistanis) at 8:20 pm.

The victims were travelling in the bus bearing the registration number GJ09Z 9976 which was neither part of the escorted yatra convoy nor registered with the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

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"The attack occurred at 8.20 pm. All yatra movement which is protected by the security forces on the highway stops at 7 pm after which no movement of pilgrims is officially allowed," said a senior police officer.

The ill-fated pilgrims had performed the yatra and had boarded the bus at north Kashmir's Baltal base camp.

The officer said the militants first attacked a police bullet-proof bunker at Khanabal and later a police checkpoint.

"After retaliation from the police, the militants started firing indiscriminately. The bus of pilgrims, according to police, was caught in the ambush," a police spokesman said.

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The alertness and bravery of the bus driver saved many lives as he locked the door from inside, refraining terrorists from entering into the bus.

Meanwhile, a fresh batch of 3,289 Amarnath pilgrims left Jammu for the Kashmir Valley today despite the terror attack.

The last known terror attack on the Amarnath Yatra was the killing of 30 persons, mostly pilgrims, in the base camp in Pahalgam in 2000.

The 40-day long yatra started on June 29 and will end on August 7.

So far, nearly 1.40 lakh pilgrims have reached the cave shrine located at 3,888 metres above sea-level.