New Delhi: A search is on for a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative called Mohammad Abu Ismail, who is believed to have planned and led Monday's terror attack in which seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed in Jammu and Kashmir.
The 26-year-old Pakistani national infiltrated into India about two years ago and has been operating in south Kashmir, sources said.
The investigation into Monday's attack on a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims is still in an early stage. But the Jammu and Kashmir police say they have intercepts that prove the Lashkar's role.
According to information put together by the security establishment, Abu Ismail led the attack along with three to five other terrorists, some of them locals.
At the attack site, a heavily protected area just 200 metres from an army installation, more than 100 empty cartridges were found, which, sources said, indicates that the terrorists were well prepared for the attack.
Investigators said the terrorists came on two motorcycles and chased the bus at two points before escaping.
It is not clear what kind of a role, if any, was played by Abu Dujana, who is seen to be the big boss of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Kashmir valley.
Sources said the terrorist group operates through a "disaggregated structure" in Jammu and Kashmir, implying that local operatives may carry out attacks independently in their area of operation.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have said they suspect the Amarnath attack, one of the worst in Kashmir in recent times, was a revenge attack after the police announced the arrest of Lashkar operative Sandeep Kumar Sharma in south Kashmir's Anantnag.
A native of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Sharma, 36, had joined the Lashkar in the state five years ago and was reportedly close to terrorist Bashir Lashkari, who was killed in an operation on July 1. Sharma is believed to have accompanied terrorists in the Qazigund ambush that killed six policemen.
Sharma was arrested on Monday when he emerged from the house where terrorists had been hiding after the July 1 encounter in Anantnag which killed Bashir Lashkari.
There is no clarity how the bus carrying pilgrims was allowed to pass security check-posts on Monday after sunset when thousands of policemen head back to their camps for the night.
Intelligence agencies had warned that terror groups such as the Lashkar could try and attack the annual pilgrimage made by thousands every year.
"We have to enquire why... it was allowed after sunset," Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh told NDTV, stating that the attack was a "big lapse". Officials said it was apparently delayed by a flat tyre.
Even though central agencies are yet to conclusively link Monday's attack on Amarnath pilgrims to Lashker-e-Taiba+ (LeT), the latter's prompt denial of its role is being seen in the context of international pressure on Pakistan to crack down on its top leadership including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed as well as its terror activities.
"A key factor that may have led LeT to disown the Amarnath attack is that civilians, and not security forces, were a target+ . Hitting innocent civilians obviously draws international condemnation, which could create problems as Pakistan has been told time and again to rein in Saeed and the LeT terror network," an intelligence officer told TOI on Tuesday.
The possibility is being discussed as Amarnath yatra is far from being sancrosanct for Lashkar and terror groups. The extremist and separatist elements in the Kashmir valley have also seen it as an imposition and it does not fit their narrative of the Valley being the exclusive preserve of one community. The syncretism and accomodative traditions of the Kashmir are in fact seen as an aberration and a "pollution" of the hardline beliefs harboured by Lashkar, Hizbul Mujahideen and their sympathisers.
Global pressure had led Pakistan to place Saeed and other top leaders of Jamaatud Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat under house arrest/detention on January 30. In April, Saeed's 90-day house arrest was extended for another 90 days until July 30.
Though the J&K police has pointed to LeT's role, it has only mentioned "unknown gunmen" in its report to the Centre. There is also an assessment that when the ill-fated bus had to stop due to a reported tyre puncture, its occupants may have gone out and got noticed by overground workers (OGWs) linked to the attackers.
"It seems these OGWs tipped off the terrorists, who waited for the road opening party to be withdrawn before attacking the bus," said an officer.
As per J&K government's report, the attackers hit the bus twice, first near Habba Khatun petrol pump and then 75 yards away. Though the terrorists also fired at a police naka and later at the G/90 battalion camp located at Arwani, no casualties were reported.
"The multiple instances of firing, after which terrorists still managed to escape, points to a lapse and complacency on part of the forces," said the officer.
However, CRPF maintains that the bus was not part of the official convoy that moves under protection and was also not registered with the Amarnath Shrine Board. "It is not possible to track and regulate movement of all unregistered, private vehicles carrying yatris," said a CRPF officer.
