A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team has reached Reasi and is coordinating with the local police probing into the terror attack on a passenger bus that left nine people dead and several injured, officials said on Monday. Meanwhile, security forces have also launched a massive cordon and search operation to track down the terrorists responsible for the attack.

Terrorists opened fire at the 53-seater bus, on its way from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, causing it to veer off the road and fall into a deep gorge near the Teryath village of the Poni area on Sunday. The bus was ferrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Officials said nine people, including a two-year-old boy from Rajasthan and a 14-year-old from Uttar Pradesh, died in the attack.

They added that 41 people aged between three and 50 were injured in the ambush. Of them, 10 suffered gunshot injuries.

(With Agency Inputs)