26 tourists killed at a resort in Kashmir
Gunmen shot and killed at least 26 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said in what appeared to be a major shift in a regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared.
Police blamed militants fighting against Indian rule for the attack in Baisaran meadow, some 5 km from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam. At least three dozen people were wounded, many of them seriously, according to two senior police officers.
“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.
The two officers said at least four militants fired at dozens of tourists from close range. Most of the killed tourists were Indian, they said.
At least 24 bodies were collected in the aftermath of the attack, and two people died while being taken for medical treatment. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers.
“We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” India’s home minister, Amit Shah, wrote on social media.
He arrived in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and convened a meeting with top security officials.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was cutting short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returning to New Delhi early Wednesday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attack and stressed that “attacks against civilians are unacceptable under any circumstances,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmir’s top religious cleric, said on social media that “such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir, which welcomes visitors with love and warmth.”
US Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting India, called it a “devastating terrorist attack.”
He added on social media: “Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack.”
US President Donald Trump noted on social media the “deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against terrorism.”
Other global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, condemned the attack.
“The United States stands with India,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X.
The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, while condemning the attack, said Modi’s government should take accountability instead of making “hollow claims on the situation being normal” in the region.