Indian police have carried out sweeping raids targeting a banned Islamist political party in disputed Kashmir, days after the deadliest blast in the Indian capital for more than a decade.
There has been no confirmation that the searches this week are connected to Monday鈥檚 explosion 鈥� which killed at least 12 people near the historic Red Fort in the capital鈥檚 Old Delhi quarter.
But the raids represent a renewed effort by police to tighten security after the explosion, which the government called 鈥榓 heinous terror incident鈥� and blamed on 鈥榓nti-national forces鈥�.
Many of the raids have taken place since Wednesday, according to district police statements from across the Indian-administered part of the Himalayan territory.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full. Tensions remain high between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Police, including in Kashmir鈥檚 Awantipora,聽 Bandipora, Ganderbal, Shopian and Sopore districts, issued statements about the raids, which they said targeted the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 Hindu-nationalist government banned the Kashmir branch of Jamaat-e-Islami in 2019 as an 鈥榰nlawful association鈥�.
Officers carried out 鈥榚xtensive raids at multiple locations鈥� to 鈥榙ismantle the terror ecosystem and its support structures鈥�, the police in Awantipora said in a statement.
The department in Bandipora said they had seized 鈥榠ncriminating material鈥�, while the Sopore police said it had carried out 鈥榣arge-scale operations against Jamaat-e-Islami-linked networks鈥�, adding that more than 30 locations were searched.
Officers also raided Al-Falah University in Faridabad, on the southern outskirts of the capital, while security forces on Friday demolished a house in Kashmir鈥檚 Pulwama district.
Police have not commented on the demolition, although law enforcement agencies have carried out such destruction against those accused of launching attacks in the past.
India鈥檚 anti-terrorism National Investigation Agency is leading the probe into Monday鈥檚 blast, and the government has vowed to bring the 鈥榩erpetrators, their collaborators, and their sponsors鈥� to justice.
But officials, so far, have given little further information on who that might be 鈥� and whether it was a homegrown group or had links from abroad.
Indian media have widely connected the November 10 blast with a string of arrests just hours before, when they seized explosive materials and assault rifles.
Police said those arrested were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based and al-Qaeda linked group, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot linked to JeM.
Concerning those arrests, India鈥檚 Jammu and Kashmir police said on Monday 鈥� shortly before the explosion 鈥� that their investigations had 鈥榬evealed a white collar terror ecosystem, involving radicalised professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers, operating from Pakistan and other countries鈥�.
The blast in Delhi was the most significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.
