India says gunmen behind Pahalgam attack killed

ANKARA

The Indian government on Tuesday said it killed the gunmen behind the April 22 attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in Jammu and Kashmir, which triggered a brief military escalation with Pakistan in May.

Home Minister Amit Shah told the parliament that three attackers were killed during a military operation in the Kashmir capital, Srinagar, on Monday.

"In a joint Operation Mahadev, the Indian Army … neutralized three terrorists who were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack,” Shah told lawmakers, according to the state-run Doordarshan News.

“We have proof that all three were Pakistanis. Out of the three, we even have Pakistani voter numbers for two of them. We also have the rifles, and even the chocolates recovered from them were made in Pakistan,” he added.

The Indian Army on Monday said the suspected militants had been killed in the Lidwas area of Harwan village, near Srinagar, in the Indian-administered Kashmir.

There was no immediate reaction from Islamabad regarding India’s claims that the slain attackers were of Pakistani origin.

New Delhi had blamed Islamabad for the attack, which claimed 26 lives. Pakistan denied and called for a neutral investigation.

India then launched airstrikes on Pakistan, drawing a military response. After an exchange of attacks for four days, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between the two nuclear rivals on May 10, which remains in effect.