At least 26 people were killed and nearly a dozen others injured on Tuesday after terrorists opened fire in Kashmir. The horrifying attack took place in the popular tourist hotspot of Pahalgam, with security personnel subsequently launching an operation. Police and officials said several tourists gunshot wounds have been evacuated to local hospitals.
“We heard the sound of gunfire but just thought the police were probably doing some tests in the Valley. But then I saw my husband and he was lying in a pool of blood. The fellow tourists started shouting ‘bhago bhago’…I asked the militants to shoot both of us. He said Modi ji ko batao. I am still in shock and I am unable to overcome it,” Shivmogga resident Pallavai told Deccan Herald.
Her husband was shot dead and family members were injured during the Baisaran Valley attack on Tuesday afternoon. BJP MP from Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya later indicated that arrangements were being made to facilitate their return to the state.
Several tourists were also been shifted to nearby hospitals with serious injuries on Tuesday afternoon. This included four people from Pune wherein multiple family members have suffered gunshot wounds. Meanwhile others recalled having a narrow escape — racing out of the area as gunshots echoed through the valley.
“This incident happened when we had just left the place of the incident. We could hear the sound of firing for a long time. Everyone was trying to escape from the place. We never looked back as we just wanted to escape from there,” said a tourist couple from Nagpur in Maharashtra.
Security officials have since launched a massive anti-terror operation to hunt down the assailants. The Jammu and Kashmir administration also set up 24X7 emergency control rooms in Anantnag and Srinagar.
“The death toll is still being ascertained so I don’t want to get into those details. They will be officially conveyed as the situation becomes clearer. Needless to say this attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” CM Abdullah wrote on X.