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Agence France-Presse

At least 26 people were killed on Tuesday in Indian-administered Kashmir when gunmen opened fire on tourists, security sources said, in the insurgency-hit region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi decried the “heinous act” in the summer retreat of Pahalgam, pledging the attackers “will be brought to justice”.
The killings come a day after Modi met in New Delhi with US Vice-President J.D. Vance, who is on a four-day tour of India with his wife and children.
A tour guide in Pahalgam said he reached the scene after hearing gunfire and had transported some of the wounded away on horseback.
Waheed, who gave only one name, said he saw several men lying dead on the ground, while a witness who requested anonymity said the attackers were “clearly sparing women”.

Pahalgam lies 90km (55 miles) by road from the key city of Srinagar.
One security source said that foreign tourists were among those shot, but there was no official confirmation.
Other security sources and some Indian media reported late on Tuesday that 26 people had died, two more than the figure earlier given by a senior local police officer.
No group has claimed responsibility, but rebels in the Muslim-majority region have waged an insurgency since 1989.
They are seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan, which controls a smaller part of the Kashmir region and, like India, claims it in full.
Vance offered condolences in a social media post, while US President Donald Trump called Modi to quickly offer “full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack”, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Modi also cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia over the attack, the foreign ministry said.
In New York, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he “strongly condemns” the attack.


“The militants, I can’t say how many, came out of the forest near an open small meadow and started firing,” said the witness, who asked not to be identified.
“They were clearly sparing women and kept shooting at men, sometimes single shot and sometimes many bullets. It was like a storm,” said the man, who cares for horses that are popular with tourists in the area.
The witness said dozens of people fled as the gunmen opened fire.
“They all started running around in panic”, he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that “the attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”, with the death toll still uncertain.
“This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” he added in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.”
Among the foreign leaders condemning the attack and offering support, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen pledged that “Europe will stand with you.”
Medical workers at a hospital in Anantnag said they had received some of the wounded, including with gunshot wounds.
India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the territory, but fighting has eased since Modi’s government revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.
“Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable and it will get even stronger,” Modi said in a statement.

In recent years, the authorities have promoted the mountainous region as a holiday destination, both for winter skiing, and to escape the sweltering summer heat elsewhere in India.
Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, the majority domestic visitors.
In 2023, India hosted a G20 tourism meeting in Srinagar under tight security in a bid to show that what officials call “normalcy and peace” were returning after a massive crackdown.
A string of resorts are being developed, including some close to the heavily militarised de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
India regularly blames Pakistan for backing gunmen behind the insurgency.
Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination.
The worst attack in recent years took place in Pulwama in February 2019, when insurgents rammed a car packed with explosives into a police convoy killing 40 and wounding at least 35 others.
The deadliest recent attack on civilians was in March 2000, when 36 Indians were killed. That attack occurred on the eve of a visit by US president Bill Clinton.


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India

At least 26 killed in ‘heinous’ attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Indian security officers stand guard in south Kashmir after assailants opened fired at tourists. Photo: AP

Paramedics carry a wounded tourist on a stretcher at a hospital in Anantnag after an attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Indian security officers stands guard at a hospital in Anantnag after assailants indiscriminately fired at tourists visiting Pahalgam, Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Vance in India: can US VP’s visit help fast-track trade deal, avert Trump tariff threat?

US Vice-President J.D. Vance inspects an honour guard as he arrives in New Delhi, India, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Indian Ministry of External Affairs 

US Vice-President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha Vance pose for photos with their children upon their arrival in New Delhi, India, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Indian Ministry of External Affairs

A commuter rides a scooter past a poster welcoming US Vice-President J.D. Vance in New Delhi on Monday. Vance is on a four-day visit to India. Photo: AFP

US tariff threats open door to a ‘make in India’ moment

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with US President Donald Trump at the White House in February. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Employees pack parts for commercial vehicles inside an auto component manufacturing facility in Rajkot, India, on April 3. Photo: Reuters

People dance in Mumbai on Monday at an event celebrating B. R. Ambedkar, who drafted India’s constitution. About 65 per cent of the country’s 1.4 billion population is under 35. Photo: EPA-EFE

An employee assembles a car on an assembly line inside a Renault Nissan Automotive India plant in Tamil Nadu. Photo: Reuters

Employees work on a production line at a pharmaceutical company on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, on April 12. Photo: Reuters

India targets Chinese shipments with new tariff on steel imports

An employee works at a steel bar manufacturing facility in the western Indian state of Gujarat on April 7. Photo: Reuters

A worker stacks pressed steel items at a factory which produces metal products for export in China’s eastern Shandong province on April 15. Photo: AFP

Steel products for export are seen piled up at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on April 1. South Korea was the largest exporter of steel to India in 2024-25. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE

Indian army officer and 3 suspected militants killed in Kashmir

Paramilitary personnel stand guard as Kashmiri Anganwadi workers stage an anti-government protest demanding better pay and job security, in Srinagar on Monday. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

South Asia

No group claimed responsibility, but rebels in the Muslim-majority region have waged an insurgency since 1989


No group claimed responsibility, but rebels in the Muslim-majority region have waged an insurgency since 1989.
