India blows up homes of two ‘Kashmir attack suspects’

HELD KASHMIR: Soldiers in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Friday blew up the family homes of two men who police allege were among a gang that carried out the region’s deadliest attack against civilians for decades. Indian security forces have launched a giant manhunt for those responsible for killing 26 men in Pahalgam on Tuesday.

They have issued wanted posters with sketches of three men: Adil Hussain Thoker, Ali Bhai and Hashim Musa. They are also searching for Indian citizen Ashif Sheikh. Members of the two Indian fugitives’ immediate families were detained for questioning after the attack, the officer and their relatives said.

Sheikh’s sister Yasmeena said soldiers cordoned off the area around the house, in Kashmir’s southern Tral area, overnight from Thursday to Friday. “One soldier climbed over the mud compound wall of our home, and climbed back after a while,” said Yasmeena, who gave only one name.

“After some time, a big frightening blast brought the house down. Everything inside is destroyed,” she said, adding that no one was inside at the time. A police officer said soldiers also destroyed Thokar’s family home in the neighbouring Bijbehara area in the same manner early on Friday.

Police said they were part of a group called The Resistance Front (TRF). “Both have been active for three to four years, and are part of TRF,” a police intelligence officer told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

“They are wanted militants involved in earlier attacks as well on security forces,” the officer added. Police have offered a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest.

Meanwhile, India’s army chief will review security arrangements on Friday and visit the site of a deadly attack on tourists in held Kashmir earlier this week. General Upendra Dwivedi, India’s army chief, will visit Kashmir to review security arrangements and was likely to visit the site of the attack, an army source said, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to chase the perpetrators to “the ends of the earth”.