The gunmen shot at least 26 tourists in an Indian control complex KASSMIRThe police said on Tuesday, which seemed to be a significant change in the regional conflict where tourists have been largely saved.
Police described the incident as a « horror attack » and blamed militants fighting the Indian government. « This attack is much greater than anything we have seen for civilians in recent years, » Omar Abdullah, the highest elected official in the region, wrote on social media.
Two senior police officers said that at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired dozens of tourists from closely. Officers said that at least three dozen others were injured, many in serious condition.
Most tourists killed were Indians, according to officers, talking to the state of anonymity according to departmental policy. Officials collected at least 24 bodies in Baisran Meadow, about five kilometers from the city of Pahalgam in the disputed region. Two others died while they were taken by medical treatment.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police and soldiers were looking for attackers.
« We went down a lot to the authors with the hardest consequences, » India Interior Minister, What shahHe wrote on social media. He arrived at Srinagar, the main city of Kashmir controlled by India, and called a meeting with the highest security officials.
Prime minister Scream His two -day visit to Saudi Arabia was reduced and returned to New Delhi at the beginning of Wednesday, informed the news agency Press Trust of India.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key resistance politician and the highest religious clergyman in the Kashmir, condemned what he described as a « cowardly attack on tourists », writing on social media that « this violence is unacceptable and against the Ethos of Kashmir that welcomes visitors with love and warmth. »
Get daily national news
Get the main holders of the current political, economic and current news, delivered to your inbox once a day.
The fire shot coincided with the visit to India of North -American Vicerish Vice Presidentwho called it a « devastating terrorist attack ».
He added to social media: « During the last days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they cry this horrible attack. »
United States President Donald Trump On social media they said « deeply disturbing news of the Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against terrorism. » Other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonicondemned the attack.
Nuclear weapons rivals in India and Pakistan administer a part of the Kashmir, but both claim the territory entirely.
Kashmir has seen a large number of Hindu murder, including immigrant workers from Indian states, after New Delhi finished the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019, and dramatically slows down dissent, civil freedoms, and media freedoms.
The tensions have been reduced as India has intensified its counter -insurgency operations. But despite the fact that tourists go to Kashmir in a large number for their Himalayan foothills and homemade vessels decorated exquisitely, they have not been goals.
The region has attracted millions of visitors who enjoy a strange peace preserved by omnipresent security control points, armored vehicles and soldiers. New Delhi has vigorously promoted tourism and has called for it as a sign of return of normality.
El Prat a Pahalgam is a popular destination, surrounded by snowy mountains and splashed with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
The opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, while condemning the attack, said that the Modi government should have accounts instead of « empty claims about the normal situation » in the region.
Members of the Kashmir India have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of joining the territory, either under the Pakistani government or as an independent country.
India insists that Kashmir’s militancy is Pakistan’s sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the post and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate struggle for freedom. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
In March 2000, at least 35 civilians were shot and killed in a southern village while Then US President Bill Clinton I was visiting India. It was the deadliest attack in the region in recent years.
The violence has taken place in recent times in the Cashmir Valley, the heart of the anti-India rebellion. The struggle between government forces and rebels has largely moved to remote areas of the Jammu region, such as Rajouri, Poyonch and Kathua, where Indian troops have faced fatal attacks.
& Copy 2025 The Canadian Press
Leave a Reply