Over two dozen people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, according to Indian police.
At least 13 others were in hospital being treated for injuries.
The attack took place in a meadow a few kilometres from central Pahalgam, a tourist destination that lies about 90km from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The firing happened in front of us,” one witness told India Today. “We thought someone was setting off firecrackers, but when we heard other people [screaming], we quickly got out of there… saved our lives and ran.”
“For four kilometres, we did not stop… I am shaking,” another witness told India Today.
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No group has yet claimed the deadliest attack on civilians in years. The Muslim-majority region has been home to an insurgency since the late 1980s by groups primarily seeking independence from India.
Indian government officials said that Italian and Israeli tourists were also killed in the attack that was carried out using automatic rifles and small arms, Indian newspaper The Hindu reported.
A tour guide told AFP news agency that he reached the scene after hearing gunfire and transported some of the wounded away on horseback.
“I saw a few men lying on the ground looking like they were dead,” said Waheed, who gave only one name.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that the attack was “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”.
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“This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” he said in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “heinous act” in a statement on X.
“Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice… they will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger.”
The attack comes as US Vice President JD Vance was visiting the country to meet Modi for a four-day visit. Vance called the attack horrific in a statement on X and expressed his condolences for the victims and their families.
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar shortly after the incident.
‘Heavy-handed repression’
In August 2019, Modi’s government revoked Article 370A and Article 35A, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status, imposed a communication blockade, and led to the arrest of thousands of Kashmiris as the region’s status changed overnight.
The region has experienced a massive crackdown on dissent since the revocation. In September 2022, Amnesty International said the Indian government was targeting all credible, independent sources of information on Jammu and Kashmir.
“There is a silence achieved on all dissent through heavy-handed repression which has spread fear and uncertainty in the region,” Amnesty International said.
Since the region’s special status was revoked, there has been a massive uptick in tourism to the picturesque region. According to official Indian government numbers, 3.5 million tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir in 2024.
Kashmir is often dubbed “the world’s most militarised zone” because of the outsized presence of Indian paramilitary forces in the region.
The mountainous region has been disputed since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, with India claiming the region as “integral” to its sovereignty and Pakistan calling for a plebiscite, including Pakistan-administered Kashmir, to give Kashmiris the right to self-determination.
Both countries accuse the other of occupying the region.
This story is developing and will continue to be updated.
