SRINAGAR, India (AP) 鈥 Gunmen fatally shot at least seven people working on a strategic tunnel project in Indian-controlled Kashmir and injured at least five others, officials said on Monday.
Police blamed militants who have been fighting against Indian rule for decades for the 鈥渢error attack鈥 at a camp for construction workers near the disputed region鈥檚 resort town of Sonamarg. No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility.
Police said at least two gunmen fired 鈥渋ndiscriminately鈥 at officials and workers associated with the construction, leaving two dead on the spot. At least 10 others were taken to hospital, where five more died. The attack came shortly after workers returned to their lodgings on Sunday night. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the attack.
The dead included five non-local laborers and officials, one Kashmiri worker and a Kashmiri doctor.
Reinforcements of police and soldiers launched search operations in the area to nab the attackers.
, the region's top elected official, condemned the attack in a post on social media platform X, calling it 鈥渄astardly & cowardly.鈥
A key Kashmiri resistance leader said he was 鈥渄eeply saddened by the outrageous killings.鈥
鈥淎nother grim reminder of the unending cycle of violence and uncertainty we are suffering for decades,鈥 wrote on X.
Hundreds of people, mostly non-local laborers, are working on the ambitious tunnel project that aims to connect the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh, a cold desert region that is isolated for half the year because of massive snowfalls. Experts say the tunnel project is important to the military, which will gain significantly improved capabilities to operate in Ladakh.
The strategically important region shares de facto borders with Pakistan and China, and Indian and Chinese soldiers have been . Both countries have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers there, backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.
Sunday鈥檚 attack was the second attack on a non-local worker in the region since Wednesday, following the first local elections since India stripped the region of semi-autonomy five years ago.
On Friday, body of a worker from eastern Bihar state, riddled with bullet wounds, was recovered from a maize field in southern Shopian district, police said. They blamed militants for the killing.
Kashmir has witnessed a , many targeting workers from other parts of India, since 2021. Police say the killings, which have also included local Muslim village councilors, police officials and civilians, have been carried out by anti-India rebels.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi鈥檚 rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels鈥 goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists that Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
