Srinagar: Security forces on Monday continued to carry out a massive search operation to track down the militants behind one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Kashmir in a long time, officials said.
Seven employees of an infrastructure firm, including a Kashmiri doctor, were killed on Sunday evening in a terror attack on a workers’ camp near the tourist resort of Sonamarg on the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway. Five other workers were also injured in the attack.
The attack on the workers took place hours after the J&K hosted a major sporting event “Kashmir Marathon” in Srinagar to “showcase normalcy”.
The officials said soon after the attack, police and army launched a joint search operation in the area to trace the attackers, suspected to be two to three in number.
“Massive search operation is underway to track down the terrorists,” they said, adding that security forces have also deployed drones and sniffer dogs to comb through the nearby forests.
Top security officials are camping in Ganderbal to oversee the operation. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) team also reached Ganderbal to assist in the initial probe.
Militant group, The Resistance Front, believed to be the shadow group of Lashkar-e-Taiba, has purportedly claimed responsibility for the attack on the construction workers.
Police sources said that militants launched the attack on Sunday evening, targeting a camp set up by the infrastructure company building the 6.5 km Z-Morh tunnel near Gagangeer on the Srinagar-Sonamarg route. The Z-Morh tunnel, which is nearing completion, is one of two tunnels that will connect Ladakh with the outside world through an all-weather road.
Those killed in the attack include two from J&K, including a Kashmiri doctor, three from Bihar and one each from Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
