The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has broadened its probe into the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack, opening a formal “Hamas angle” to examine whether the assault replicated tactics used during the October 7 attacks in Israel and whether those methods were transmitted to Pakistan-backed groups. The multi-site strike in South Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley killed 26 people, mostly tourists, and is now being treated as the opening phase of a wider cross-border conspiracy codenamed “D‑6” that allegedly aimed at coordinated strikes across Indian cities.
According to NIA officials, the Pahalgam operation diverged from conventional local militancy and showed a striking operational resemblance to the doctrine attributed to Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades: close-range swarming, targeted executions after isolating victims, and real-time action-camera recording. Investigators say assailants linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its front, The Resistance Front (TRF), systematically separated victims — reportedly forcing some to recite religious verses or checking for physical markers — before executing them at point-blank range, and filmed parts of the violence with mounted cameras.
Forensic and digital analysis recovered a GoPro Hero 12 Black used by the neutralised attackers; investigators traced its supply chain to legal manufacture in Europe, shipment to an authorised distributor in China, activation in Dongguan, and alleged smuggling across the border into J&K. That digital trail has prompted the NIA to probe whether local, tech‑radicalised operatives received online handbooks or dark‑web blueprints, and whether cryptographic financing linked to global extremist networks helped fund equipment and logistics.
The agency now views the Pahalgam incident as part of the D‑6 plot, which is said to have envisaged vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), commercial drones and shoulder‑fired rockets targeting high-value sites such as temples and military logistics hubs in major cities. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, commenting on the international investigation, said: “If needed, we will go to the netherworld… We will go everywhere possible to find individuals who are linked to this terror blast network.”
Security forces killed the three identified foreign mercenary executors — named as Suleman, Hamza Afghani and Zibran — during Operation Mahadev in the Dachigam forests; the NIA’s current focus is on the alleged orchestrators and handlers believed to be operating from safe havens in Pakistan. A Special NIA Court in Jammu has issued a Letter Rogatory to Chinese judicial authorities under the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime to trace financial transactions and end‑users who purchased tactical gear used in the valley.
Domestically, investigators are mapping the over‑ground worker (OGW) network — including educated technical handlers — to isolate those who arranged drone logistics, safe houses and communications that may have linked Pakistan‑based groups with global extremist methodologies. The NIA says the inquiry will continue to combine forensic, digital and international legal channels to identify the planners and financiers behind the D‑6 conspiracy.
Original Source: https://www.firstpost.com/india/nia-traces-hamas-inspired-religious-screening-and-gopro-filming-in-pahalgam-attack-14017875.html
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Publish Date: 2026-06-02 12:36:00
