At least 26 people died and 13 others were injured in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir when several men opened fire on tourists, as indicated by a senior police official, in what authorities described as the worst attack on civilians in years.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the "heinous act" and promised that the attackers "will be brought to justice." A tour guide told AFP that he arrived at the scene after hearing gunshots and transported some of the wounded on horseback.
"I saw several men lying on the ground who appeared to be dead," said Waheed, who only gave his first name.
The attack was aimed at tourists in Pahalgam, in Kashmir, a region with a Muslim majority divided between India and Pakistan since the independence of the United Kingdom in 1947.
A senior police official in the region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described a massacre in which at least 24 people died.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but rebels in the Himalayan region, seeking independence or to join Pakistan, have been waging an insurgency since 1989.
In recent years, authorities have heavily promoted the mountainous region as a holiday destination, both for skiing during the winter months and to escape the sweltering heat elsewhere in India during the summer.
According to official figures, around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, the majority being domestic tourists.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting armed groups behind the insurgency.
Islamabad denies these accusations and claims to only support Kashmir's struggle for self-determination.