Indian police say gunmen kill at least 20 tourists in Kashmir

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN SRINAGAR India AP Indian police say gunmen have killed at least tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir Two senior police officers declared at least four gunmen whom they described as militants fired at dozens of tourists from close range Tuesday The officers explained at least three dozen others were injured several in serious condition They spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental program Leaders collected at least bodies in Baisaran meadow a few five kilometers miles from the disputed region s resort town of Pahalgam Police described the happening as a terror attack and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule It appeared to be a major shift in the regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared This attack is much larger than anything we ve seen directed at civilians in new years Omar Abdullah the region s top elected official wrote on social media Police were searching for the attackers There was no immediate claim of responsibility Indian tourists rests on a bench as policemen guard near a clock tower at city centre in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Mukhtar Khan Paramedic carry a wounded tourist on a stretcher at a hospital in Anantnag after assailants indiscriminately fired at tourists visiting Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin An Indian policeman checks a bag of a civilain near a clock tower at city centre in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Mukhtar Khan Indian tourists take pictures near a clock tower at city centre in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Mukhtar Khan An Indian tourist woman talk to her cell phone as Jammu and Kashmir Special Operation Group SOG personnel patrol at a Dal Lake in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Mukhtar Khan An Indian tourist right with blood-soaked trousers speaks on the phone as she arrives at a hospital in Anantnag after assailants indiscriminately fired at tourists visiting Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin Indian safeguard officers patrol in armored vehicles near Pahalgam in south Kashmir after assailants indiscriminately opened fired at tourists in Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin An Indian safeguard officer stands guard in south Kashmir after assailants indiscriminately opened fired at tourists in Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin Curtis Cassidy of Alberta Canada competes during the fifth go-round of steer wrestling at the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas Mack Center in Las Vegas Monday Dec An Indian shield officer stands guard in south Kashmir after assailants indiscriminately opened fired at tourists in Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin Indian shield personnel stand guard in south Kashmir after assailants indiscriminately opened fired at tourists in Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin Indian precaution officers stand guard near Pahalgam in south Kashmir after assailants indiscriminately opened fired at tourists in Pahalgam Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Dar Yasin Show Caption of Indian tourists rests on a bench as policemen guard near a clock tower at city centre in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir Tuesday April AP Photo Mukhtar Khan Expand India s home minister Amit Shah was heading to Srinagar the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir He announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on an official visit in Saudi Arabia has been briefed We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences Shah wrote on social media Mirwaiz Umar Farooq a key Kashmiri resistance leader condemned what he described as a cowardly attack on tourists writing on socila media that such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir which welcomes visitors with love and warmth The attack coincided with the visit to India of U S Vice President JD Vance who is on a largely personal four-day stop Over the past scarce 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 Vance announced on social media The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular sightseeing destination surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir but both claim the territory in its entirety Related Articles Pope Francis funeral to be held Saturday with citizens viewing starting Wednesday In the modern day in History April the Oklahoma Land Rush of Flags in Colorado to be lowered to half-staff until Pope Francis funeral China warns countries against making contract deals with the US unfavorable to Beijing Pope Francis first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming humble style dies at Kashmir has seen a spate of targeted killings of Hindus including immigrant workers from Indian states after New Delhi ended the region s semi-autonomy in and drastically curbed dissent civil liberties and media freedoms Tensions have been simmering as India has intensified its counterinsurgency operations The region known for rolling Himalayan foothills exquisitely decorated houseboats and pristine meadows has become a major domestic tourist destination Kashmir has drawn millions of visitors who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous defense checkpoints armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers Although violence has ebbed in contemporary times in the Kashmir Valley the heart of anti-India rebellion fighting between cabinet forces and rebels has largely shifted to remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri Poonch and Kathua where Indian troops have faced deadly attacks Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi s rule since Countless Muslim Kashmiris patronage the rebels goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism Pakistan denies the charge and plenty of Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle Tens of thousands of civilians rebels and administration forces have been killed in the conflict Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this summary