Three armed militants linked to a deadly assault on tourists earlier this year in the India-administered region of Kashmir have been killed, according to a senior Indian government official speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday.

The April attack targeted a popular mountain destination in the region, where attackers opened fire and claimed the lives of 26 individuals, most of whom were Indian tourists. The incident sparked national outrage and led to a brief but intense standoff between India and Pakistan.

The men were eliminated during a coordinated mission named Operation Mahadev, carried out by the Indian Army in collaboration with the Central Reserve Police Force and local Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah informed Parliament.

“These three terrorists were the perpetrators behind the brutal killings in Baisaran Valley. They have all been neutralized,” Shah stated.

He confirmed that the three individuals killed in the operation were Pakistani citizens.

The Pakistani government has been approached for a response regarding the incident.

India held Pakistan responsible for orchestrating the assault, an allegation that Islamabad denied. In the aftermath, India conducted airstrikes across the border, triggering an exchange of military actions that resulted in casualties on both sides.

Shah revealed that intelligence agencies had traced the whereabouts of the suspects to Dachigam National Park, situated near Srinagar, back in May. After thorough verification over several months, authorities acted on the information.

Since the April massacre of tourists, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced significant domestic pressure to identify and deal with those behind the tragedy.

The mission to neutralize the attackers happened on the same day Parliament held a dedicated session discussing Operation Sindoor, India’s official retaliatory campaign in response to the attack.

The region of Kashmir has long been a contentious area between India and Pakistan, ever since both nations gained independence from British rule in 1947.

Following the violent partition that divided British India into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, both countries laid full claim to Kashmir, despite each controlling only a section of the territory. Their first war broke out over the region just months after independence.

The conflict ignited by the April attack marked the most serious clash between India and Pakistan in decades, with each nation launching strikes deep into the other’s territory.

After several days of hostilities, a ceasefire was declared. At the time, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington had played a role in brokering the truce, though India later rejected any claim of American mediation.