J&K assault: Terrorists massacre 28 tourists in Pahalgam | India News

SRINAGAR: At least 28 tourists had been killed and lots of wounded on Tuesday when terrorists opened fireplace in a picturesque meadow close to the resort city of Pahalgam in J&Ok, marking the deadliest assault for the reason that abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The Resistance Front, a proxy of ISI-backed LeT, claimed duty for the assault.
The assault coincided with US Vice-President J D Vance’s four-day go to to India and PM Narendra Modi’s arrival in Saudi Arabia for strengthening bilateral engagement with the influential Islamic nation. Equally considerably, it adopted a bellicose speech of Asim Munir, chief of the Pakistan military, the mainstay of terrorists.
This was the deadliest assault on tourists since militancy started in Kashmir in the Nineties. It introduced again recollections of the March 2000 massacre in Chittisinghpora in Anantnag district, the place 36 members of the Sikh group had been killed days earlier than US President Bill Clinton’s go to to India.
The synchroneity fitted in nicely with Pakistan’s try to safe worldwide intervention in J&Ok by casting it because the set off for a possible nuclear conflagration between the hostile neighbours.

The focusing on of tourists drawn from totally different elements, confirmed the diabolical intent and, maybe, an try to trigger communal unrest throughout the nation. Jihadis have currently kept away from attacking tourists who deliver precious cash to the Union territory.
Survivors stated the terrorists, believed to be foreigners numbering round six and dressed in Army fatigues, recognized their victims by religion asking them to inform their names and recite Islamic verses earlier than spraying bullets on them from shut vary.
Gunmen struck round 1.30pm in Baisaran meadow – about 7km from Pahalgam and reachable both by foot and or by horses – as scores of tourists had been having fun with an everyday afternoon, surrounded by snow-capped peaks and pine forests. Pahalgam’s meadow is a prime sightseeing spot that attracts a whole lot of tourists each day. Heavy safety presence, together with checkpoints and armed patrols, offered a way of safety.
Victims included honeymooners similar to Navy officer Vinay Narwal. Posted at Southern Naval Command in Kochi, the officer was married on April 16. Two overseas nationals – one from Nepal and the opposite from UAE – had been additionally killed.
Security forces shortly evacuated the wounded to close by hospitals and launched a search operation to trace down the attackers. The space was cordoned off.