Over two dozen tourists feared dead in Pahalgam attack

SRINAGAR — More than two dozen tourists are believed to have been killed and at least eight others were injured in a major militant attack near the popular tourist destination of Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday afternoon, official sources said.

There is, however, no official word on the number of fatalities.

The attack that took place at around 1:30 PM at Baisaran meadow — a picturesque but non-motorable location near Pahalgam — drew an immediate response from the Centre, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah rushing to Srinagar to lead a high-level security review.

Shah also briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, about the incident.

Both the PM and Home Minister vowed to ‘not spare’ perpetrators.

Officials said the gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists in the Baisaran, leading to a high number of casualties.

A video emerged on social media in which a wailing woman, a tourist, said they were eating ‘Bhel puri’ when her husband was shot. Another wailing woman in the video was seeking help to save her husband.

Multiple sources told UNI that over two dozen tourists were killed in the militant attack.

Officials said eight injured were brought to a medical facility in Pahalgam and out of them, two were shifted to the Srinagar hospital in critical condition.

A police officer said the site of the incident is not accessible by vehicles and security forces were rushed to the spot on foot.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who oversees security and law and order in the Union Territory, said that a search operation has been launched to trace the attackers.

This is the first major militant attack in J&K since 2019.

The last major attack took place on February 14, 2019 when a local suicide bomber Adil Dar of Jaish-e-Mohammad rammed his explosive-laden car into a CRPF bus at Lethpora Pulwama, leaving 40 personnel of the force dead. The attack was followed by Balakote air strikes.

A day later, Pakistan retaliated and it triggered a brief dogfight. The Pulwama attack had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

In July 2017, eight pilgrims on the way from Amarnath Cave were killed and over a dozen were injured in a militant attack in south Kashmir.