The houses of two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, Adil Hussain Thoker and Asif Sheikh, who were behind the Pahalgam attack that killed 26, were destroyed in separate blasts in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday night, officials said.
Sources said that some explosives were kept inside their houses.
Thoker, a native of Anantnag district, is one of the key accused in Tuesday's Pahalgam massacre, while Sheikh, a resident of Pulwama, is suspected to be involved in the attack conspiracy.
The Anantnag Police on Thursday had released sketches of Thoker and two other terrorists suspected 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 group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The attack, which took place in Pahalgam's Baisaran -- dubbed "mini Switzerland" -- claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. The attack in Baisaran meadow -- a tourist hotspot known for jaw-dropping views of the Himalayas and the Valley's signature pine forests -- was one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in the region in recent years.
"Will Pursue Pahalgam Attack Accused To Ends Of The Earth": PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will "identify, track and punish" every terrorist and their "backers" who were behind the Pahalgam attack.
"Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world that India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth," he told a public gathering in Madhubani on Thursday.
"India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished," he said in his first public remarks after the terror attack on Tuesday.
He said that the terrorists behind the attack and their planners will be "punished beyond their imagination".
"The time has come to raze whatever is left of the terror haven. The will of 140 crores will break the back of the masters of terror," he said, in an apparent attack on Pakistan.
The Prime Minister on Wednesday had chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security after the deadly attack.
After the meeting, India hit Pakistan with a series of strict measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the over six-decade-old Indus Waters Treaty and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post, in view of the "cross-border links" to the Pahalgam attack.
