Terror attack was planned in Pahalgam due to relative isolation, heavy tourist footfall in Baisaran: NIA

Jammu, Aug 28 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Thursday that the terrorists chose Baisaran for the terror attack in April due to the heavy tourist footfall there, the relative isolation of the meadow and the response time of the security forces.

The NIA spokesman said on Thursday, “Three terrorists were directly involved in the brutal terror attack in which 26 people were killed in cold blood on April 22.

“The target was chosen considering the response time from the security agencies posted there."

“The terrorists chose Baisaran as the target due to its high tourist presence, relative isolation and after considering that the response (from the security agencies) would take time”, the NIA spokesman added.

In the targeted attack, terrorists killed male tourists around eateries, taking pony rides or just picnicking with their families, including young children and parents, in the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam.

The NIA in June arrested two men for harbouring the three Pakistan-based terrorists, who were killed by the armed forces late last month.

The arrested persons, Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar from Batkote and Bashir Ahmad Jothar from Pahalgam -- disclosed the identities of the three assailants as Pakistani nationals affiliated to the proscribed outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The two men provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, NIA officials had said.

The three LeT terrorists, who were killed in the July 28 encounter code-named 'Operation Mahadev' on the outskirts of Srinagar, had been hiding in the Dachigam-Harwan forest belt since the attack, they revealed.

In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian armed forces on May 7 carried out precision strikes at terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) under 'Operation Sindoor'.

The operation targeted nine sites, including the headquarters and training centres of LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed, from where terror attacks against India were planned and directed.

In the resulting escalation, 18 Defence bases of Pakistan were damaged by the Indian armed forces.

--IANS

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