PAHALGAM: At least 26 people were killed Tuesday in Illegally Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) when gunmen opened fire on tourists, security sources told AFP, in the insurgency-hit region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi decried the “heinous act” in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, pledging the attackers “will be brought to justice”.
The killings come a day after Modi met in New Delhi with US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a four-day tour of India with his wife and children.
At least 20 feared killed in attack on tourists in Indian held Kashmir, security sources say
A tour guide in Pahalgam told AFP he reached the scene after hearing gunfire and had transported some of the wounded away on horseback.
Waheed, who gave only one name, said he saw several men lying dead on the ground, while a witness who requested anonymity said the attackers were “clearly sparing women”.
Pahalgam lies 90 kilometres (55 miles) by road from the key city of occupied Srinagar.
One security source said that foreign tourists were among those shot, but there was no official confirmation.
Other security sources and some Indian media reported late Tuesday that 26 people had died, an increase from the 24 that a senior local police officer had earlier told AFP.
No group has claimed responsibility.
Vance offered condolences in a social media post, while President Donald Trump said “the United States stands strong with India against Terrorism.”
Modi, who is in Saudi Arabia, has cut short his trip to return home, foreign ministry officials said.
“The militants, I can’t say how many, came out of the forest near an open small meadow and started firing,” said the witness who asked not to be identified.
“They were clearly sparing women and kept shooting at men, sometimes single shot and sometimes many bullets, it was like a storm,” said the man, who cares for horses that are popular with tourists in the area.
The witness said dozens of people fled as the gunmen opened fire.
“They all started running around in panic”, he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that “the attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”, with the death toll still uncertain.
“This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” he added in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”
Medics at a hospital in Anantnag said they had received some of the wounded, including with gunshot wounds.
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