Amarnath terror attack: Massive manhunt launched to track down LeT commander Abu Ismail

Srinagar: A massive manhunt has been launched to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, the matermind of the Amarnath terror attack.

In the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2001, terrorists Monday night killed seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, and injured 19 others as they struck at a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district.

The security forced have stepped up operations in south Kashmir to trace Ismail.

In order to send a strong message, a fresh batch of pilgrims today left for the Himalayan cave shrine amid tight security as the Amarnath Yatra continued post a Lashkar terror strike.

A Jammu and Kashmir police official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants including Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

The attack was carried out despite deployment of a multi-layered security cover provided by nearly 35,000 security men drawn from the Army, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and the state police.

Surprisingly, Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.