Gunmen have opened fire at tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, with reports of multiple deaths. Police have described what happened as a "terror attack" and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule.
A police source told the Reuters news agency that at least five tourists were feared dead and eight people injured after suspected militants opened fire on them on Tuesday (April 22). Indian media has reported one person killed and seven injured.
Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media: "This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years. The death toll is still being ascertained so I don’t want to get into those details."
Early reports said gunmen sprayed bullets at mostly Indian tourists visiting Baisaran meadow, some three miles from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam.
Police said multiple tourists suffered gunshot wounds and officials were taking them to hospitals. A cordon has been set up and a manhunt launched for the attackers.
The attack came during a visit to India of US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a largely personal four-day visit.
A top sightseeing destination in the region, Baisaran meadow is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
The last major attack on visitors to Kashmir was in June, when at least nine people were killed and 33 injured when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims plunged into a gorge after it was targeted by militants.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989.
Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
New Delhi insists Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge, with many Kashmiris considering it a legitimate freedom struggle.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and Government forces have been killed in the ongoing conflict.
