Victims from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, TN; LeT group takes responsibility

Pahalgam (J-K): Terrorists opened fire at a famed meadow near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.

The 26 dead included two foreigners and two locals, a high ranking official said without getting into details. The toll is still being ascertained, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while describing the terror attack as “much larger than anything we've seen directed at civilians in recent years".

The attack, which comes as US Vice President J D Vance is visiting India and just as the tourist and trekking season is picking up momentum, took place around 3 pm, officials said.

Baisaran, about six kilometres from the resort town of Pahalgam, is an expansive meadow ringed by dense pine forests and mountains and a favourite with visitors from across the country and the world.

Indiscriminate firing

Armed terrorists came into the grassland, dubbed ‘mini Switzerland', and started firing at tourists milling around eateries, taking pony rides or just picnicking, officials and eyewitnesses said. At least 20 people were injured in the strike in the volatile Kashmir Valley where tourists have so far mostly been spared.

As news of the terror attack targeting tourists in Kashmir spread, The Resistance Front (TRF), shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, claimed responsibility.

Officials said it was possible the terror group could have crossed over from Kishtwar in Jammu and reached Baisaran through Kokernag.

Eye witness account

Eyewitnesses painted a chilling picture of gunfire breaking the calm of a regular Tuesday afternoon with scores of people enjoying their day out. Cries for help were heard as lifeless bodies lay motionless in pools of blood.

Some put the number of attackers at five.

"My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack," a woman survivor told PTI over phone.

The woman did not identify herself but pleaded for help in evacuating the injured to hospital.

As gunshots rang out, there was panic and tourists ran for cover but there was no place to hide in the wide, open space, said another woman tourist.

A woman said terrorists first asked the name before shooting down the victims. The tourists gathered at Baisaran were from several states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Among those killed was Karnataka businessman Manjunath Rao, who was from Shivamogga.

Evacuation on

With Baisaran accessible only by foot or horses, choppers were deployed to evacuate the injured. The families of those killed and injured were taken to the government-owned Pahalgam Club under tight security. The entire district administration and police force was mobilised and ambulances pressed into service. Some of the injured were brought down from the meadow by local people on their ponies. Army, CRPF and local police rushed to Baisaran, much sought after by filmmakers in the 1980s, after initial news came in of gunshots being heard.

A massive anti-terrorist operation has been launched to hunt down the assailants and security forces have fanned out in all directions. Pahalgam, which was teeming with tourists this morning, went into complete silence. Tourists began leaving.

Terrorists asked victims’ name before killing

Mumbai: The terrorists who shot dead 26 tourists in Pahalgam had asked the victims their names before killing them, a survivor told reporters.

In a video shot by an onlooker, a woman cries in shock saying that they were eating bhel-puri when the attacker shot dead her husband. Others were seen scrambling in shock as people cried out for their loved ones who were dead or injured.

As per an India Today report, the survivor said, “We were just having bhel-puri... and then he shot my husband”. Her husband was among those targeted when gunmen opened fire at a group of tourists. “The gunman said my husband was not a Muslim and then shot him,” she said, still in shock.

Sources from a Mumbai based tour operating company who anonymously spoke to ‘The Perfect Voice’ said that currently there are several tourists who have travelled to Kashmir through them. According to a tour guide of their company who is in Kashmir at the moment, “Baisaran is not a part of our itineraries and away from the main tourist attractions. Our guests are on tour only but all are safe.”

While most tourist companies said that they still do not have a clarity on the plan of action ahead regarding bringing the tourists back from Kashmir, they cited that the location is one of the rarest of the spots and was not a part of their regular itinerary.

The attack comes weeks before the Amarnath Yatra in a bid to terrorise and deter tourists from coming to the Valley.

The number of tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir has doubled between 2015 and 2023 with people from across India and the world visiting the picturesque mountain destination to enjoy its natural beauty.

Asavari Jagdale, the daughter of a Pune businessman, had told PTI that terrorists shot her father, Santosh Jagdale, thrice: once in the head, then behind the ear and then his back after he failed to recite an Islamic verse. The gunmen also shot her uncle several times in the back.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said two tourists from the state were killed and two others injured in the terror attack near Pahalgam. The dead are identified as Dilip Disle and Atul Mone. Manik Patel from Panvel and S Bhalchandra Rao are injured.

Union minister Murlidhar Mohol said three female members of the two families from Pune are safe while the injured members are undergoing treatment.

MP Supriya Sule named Asavari Jagdale, Pragati Jagdale, Santosh Jagdale (gunshot wound), Kaustubh Ganbote (gunshot wound), & Sangeeta Gabote from Pune as the tourists present in Pahalgam.