Jammu, April 25
The houses of two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, Adil Hussain Thoker and Asif Sheikh, who were behind the Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were brutally killed, were destroyed in separate blasts in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The blast happened on Thursday night, said sources, adding that some explosives were kept inside their houses, which went off.
Thoker, a native of Anantnag district, is one of the key accused in the April 22 Pahalgam massacre. He had reportedly travelled to Pakistan in 2018, where he received terror training before returning to Jammu and Kashmir last year. Police believe he has been acting as a local guide for the Pakistani terrorists.
Sheikh, a resident of Pulwama, is suspected to be involved in the attack.
Police on Thursday released sketches of Thoker and two other terrorists said to be involved in the Pahalgam attack.
The police said the other two suspects were Pakistani nationals and announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for credible information leading to their arrests. According to the notices made public by the police on X, the other two suspects are: Hashim Musa alias Suleman and Ali Bhai alias Talha Bhai.
They are also believed to be members of the Pakistan-based terror outfit.
The terror attack took place in Pahalgam's Baisaran -- dubbed "mini Switzerland", which is surrounded by dense forests. Twenty-five tourists, including one Nepali national and a local man, were shot dead by terrorists. The attack was one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in the region in recent years.