Injured shifted to hospital; no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Abrar Ahmid Daily Dawn + Dawn TV Repot
Kashmir: At least 24 people were killed in Indian-held Kashmir when gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists on Tuesday, a senior police officer said, with authorities calling it the worst attack on civilians in years.
“At least 24 people have been killed,” the senior police officer in Kashmir told AFP on condition of anonymity, with the toll not yet announced officially.
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a popular destination in the scenic Muslim-majority territory, that draws thousands of visitors every summer as gunmen violence has reduced in recent years.
The injured had been rushed to a local hospital, the source said on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Indian TV channels reported earlier that one person was killed and seven injured in the attack.
“I strongly condemn the cowardly attack on tourists in Pahalgam, which tragically killed five and injured several,” said Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of the region, who heads the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but fighters in the Muslim-majority region have waged an insurgency since 1989. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, although violence has tapered off in recent years.
Attacks targeting tourists in Kashmir have been rare in recent years, but not unknown.
The last major attack on visitors in the federal territory took place in June when at least nine people were killed and 33 injured when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims plunged into a deep gorge after fighters attacked it.
In 2023, India hosted a G20 tourism meeting in Srinagar under tight security in a bid to show that what officials call “normalcy and peace” were returning after a massive crackdown following New Delhi’s revocation of the region’s limited autonomy in 2019.
The move led to a downgrading of ties with Pakistan.
India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the occupied territory.
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