Despite safety assurances, what explains attack on Amarnath pilgrims?

The security forces have intensified counter-insurgency ops, killing 30 militants in past two months

The broken glass scattered on the road is the only remnant of Monday’s terror attack that left seven Amarnath pilgrims dead on the Srinagar-Jammu highway, threatening to stir tension in a state already divided on religious lines.

Nobody in the Valley expected the attack on yatris, despite the region witnessing a flare up in violence recently. For Kashmiris, Muslim and Hindu, the pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave of Hindus from around India symbolises the legacy of a composite culture and communal harmony. And that explains the anger on the streets today.

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The attack spot is barely