Dozens killed as gunmen attack tourists in Kashmir

Dozens of people have been killed after gunmen launched a deadly attack in India. 

Gunmen in Kashmir opened fire on a group of tourists at around 2:30pm on Tuesday, with the chief minister saying the ‘inhuman’ attack was one of the worst targeting civilians for years.

At least 24 people were killed, Indian police have said, but according to local reports, the death loss is likely to rise to between 26 and 30.

The attack took place in the popular summer retreat of Pahalgam, about 55 miles by road from the key city of Srinagar. 

Chilling footage emerging on social media following the aftermath of the attack shows several injured people on the ground as loved ones kneel beside them screaming for help. One woman was head wailing: ‘Please save my husband. For god’s sake, save him’.

Indian media has reported that a group of two-to-three gun-wielding individuals appeared in the area and initially asked tourists to show their identity cards. Just moments later, they allegedly opened fire.

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 being ascertained’.

‘This attack on our visitors is an abomination,’ he said in a statement. ‘The perpetrators of this attack are animals, inhuman and worthy of contempt.’ 

Paramedics and police personnel carry an injured tourist at a hospital in Anantnag, south of Srinagar, on April 22, 2025, following an attack

Gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir opened fire on a group of tourists on April 22, with the chief minister saying the ‘inhuman’ attack was one of the worst targeting civilians for years

Indian police officers stop a vehicle at a check point following a suspected militant attack, near Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, April 22, 2025

The region’s governor Manoj Sinha – New Delhi’s representative in the area – condemned ‘the cowardly terror attack on tourists’. He assured that ‘the people that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished’. 

Horror footage emerging on social media following the deadly attack has shown victims bleeding out on the ground after being hit by bullets.

In one clip shared on X, a woman can be seen kneeling beside a shot man as she pleads for help.

In another chilling video, another woman said: ‘We were having a snack when a person came and shot my husband’.

One more woman, with blood splattered on her face, looked helplessly at the man recording the video. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the perpetrators of the Kashmir terror attack will not be spared.

‘I strongly condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,’ he wrote on X.

‘All possible assistance is being provided to those affected. Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice…they will not be spared! 

‘Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger,’ he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, 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.

India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers permanently deployed in the territory, but fighting decreased since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.

Since then, the authorities have heavily promoted the mountainous region as a holiday destination, both for skiing during the winter months, and to escape the sweltering heat during the summer elsewhere in India.

At least 24 people were killed, Indian police have said

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 being ascertained’

Jammu and Kashmir Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel patrol at a busy market in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir,Tuesday, April. 22, 2025

Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, according to official figures, 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.

‘These cowardly terrorists have targeted unarmed innocent tourists who had come to visit Kashmir,’ Ravinder Raina, from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), told Indian broadcasters.

‘Some tourists have been admitted to the local hospital in an injured condition’.

India regularly blames Pakistan for backing gunmen behind the insurgency.

Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow. 

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