Foreign militants behind Pahalgam attack linked to earlier Gulmarg, Sonmarg strikes: Sources

Shocking revelations have emerged regarding the group of foreign militants responsible for the 22 April Pahalgam attack. Intelligence sources suggest that the group has been active in Kashmir for the past 6–8 months and had previously carried out high-profile attacks, including the one on the Sonmarg tunnel project in September last year. They are also suspected in a Gulmarg ambush on army vehicles earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of two soldiers.Prior to the Pahalgam attack, this group had surveyed multiple tourist spots including Gulmarg, but due to heavy deployment of Army and Jammu & Kashmir Police, including the High Altitude Warfare School and QRT teams, they rejected Gulmarg as a target. The attackers eventually traveled nearly 200 kilometers from Gulmarg to Pahalgam, arriving there around 15 April.The attackers, acting on orders from handlers across the border, executed the Pahalgam attack causing multiple casualties — though exact figures are yet to be confirmed. Among the first responders were an ASP-rank officer and a constable, who confirmed the scale of the incident. An FIR has been filed, and the NIA is piecing together disturbing facts about the group’s long-term movements and possible links to other planned attacks.