In another significant move by the National Investigation Agency, a team of NIA sleuths on Tuesday launched a probe into the killing of the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack and his two associates in an encounter with security forces near Srinagar, officials said here.

As reported by the news agency PTI, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team arrived at the Police Control Room (PCR) in Srinagar early Tuesday for the identification of the bodies of the three terrorists.

Earlier on Monday, the Army's elite para commandos gunned down Sulieman, alias Asif. Asif was one of the alleged masterminds of the April 22 attack. However, along with Asif, his two other close aides were also eliminated in an encounter at Mulnar in the Harwan area near Dachigam National Park in Srinagar.