A survivor of the Reasi attack recounted the harrowing ordeal, revealing that the terrorists’ intent was to eliminate every passenger on the bus. Despite the bus plummeting into a gorge, the terrorists continued their relentless firing to ensure a high death toll. Passengers resorted to pretending to be dead in order to survive the onslaught. Eyewitness accounts emerged, detailing the terrorists’ actions and the passengers’ attempts to escape. Within hours of the attack, ex-gratia payments were announced for the victims’ families and the injured. Security forces launched a massive cordon and search operation to apprehend the perpetrators, while the NIA arrived to assist with the investigation. The attack has been attributed to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), which aims to portray such incidents as the work of local militants rather than foreign extremists under their command.
