Indian safety forces in Kashmir carried out a serious manhunt Wednesday, a day after gunmen opened fireplace on vacationers, slaughtering not less than 26 folks within the area’s deadliest assault on civilians since 2000.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi decried the “heinous act” and pledged that the attackers “will likely be dropped at justice”.
Modi, who minimize brief a state go to to Saudi Arabia to return to India early Wednesday, met with high safety officers instantly on his arrival, a authorities official mentioned.
No official toll has been launched, however safety sources informed AFP that not less than 26 folks had been killed on Tuesday afternoon when gunmen burst out of the forests at a preferred vacationer spot and raked crowds of holiday makers with computerized gunfire.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah mentioned the assault had been “a lot bigger than something we have seen directed at civilians lately”.
No group has claimed accountability, however rebels within the Muslim-majority area have waged an insurgency since 1989.
They’re looking for independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls a smaller a part of the Kashmir area and, like India, claims it in full.
‘Abomination’
“This assault on our guests is an abomination,” Abdullah mentioned in an announcement after the assault.
“The perpetrators of this assault are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”
AFP journalists close to the positioning of the assault in Pahalgam, a preferred web site for vacationers in summer season some 90 kilometres (55 miles) by highway from the important thing metropolis of Srinagar, reported heavy deployment of safety forces.
“The search operation is presently in progress, with all efforts centered on bringing the attackers to justice,” the Indian military’s Chinar Corps mentioned in an announcement in a single day.
A tour information in Pahalgam informed AFP he reached the scene after listening to gunfire and had transported a number of the wounded away on horseback.
Waheed, who gave just one title, mentioned he noticed a number of males mendacity useless on the bottom, whereas a witness who requested anonymity mentioned the attackers had been “clearly sparing girls”.
The killings got here a day after Modi met US Vice President JD Vance in New Delhi.
“Their evil agenda won’t ever succeed. Our resolve to struggle terrorism is unshakable and it’ll get even stronger,” Modi mentioned in an announcement shortly after the assault.
The deadliest current assault on civilians was in March 2000, when 36 Indians had been killed. That assault occurred on the eve of a go to by US president Invoice Clinton.
‘Heinous’
The killings on Tuesday sparked international outrage.
US President Donald Trump known as Modi to shortly provide “full assist to India to convey to justice the perpetrators of this heinous assault”.
Among the many international leaders condemning the assault and providing assist, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen pledged that “Europe will stand with you”.
India has an estimated 500,000 troopers completely deployed within the territory however preventing has eased since Modi’s authorities revoked Kashmir’s restricted autonomy in 2019.
Lately, the authorities have promoted the mountainous area as a vacation vacation spot, each for snowboarding in winter, and to flee the sweltering summer season warmth elsewhere in India.
Round 3.5 million vacationers visited Kashmir in 2024, largely home guests.
The worst assault lately occurred in Pulwama in February 2019, when insurgents rammed a automotive filled with explosives right into a police convoy, killing 40 and wounding not less than 35 others.
India often blames Pakistan for backing gunmen behind the insurgency.
Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it solely helps Kashmir’s battle for self-determination.
Survivors mentioned the gunmen focused males, taking pictures some from point-blank vary.
One lady survivor reported that males in uniform emerged from surrounding forests to a meadow the place vacationers had been having fun with the peace of nature, The Indian Categorical newspaper reported.
Survivors mentioned they’d assumed they had been policemen.
“They had been there not less than for 20 minutes, undeterred, shifting round and opening fireplace”, the newspaper quoted the survivor as saying.
“It appeared like an eternity”.
The victims included an Indian Navy officer, who had not too long ago obtained married, and who was on vacation together with his spouse.
One other survivor informed information outlet India Immediately that the attackers requested the boys in her household to recite the Muslim name to prayer.
“Then they resumed firing and shot my father and uncle,” the survivor mentioned.
AFP
