At least nine dead after attack on bus in Indian-administered Kashmir | News

According to police, at least nine people were killed and 33 injured when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims plunged into a ravine following a gun attack.

At least nine people were killed and 33 others injured when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims plunged into a ravine in Indian-administered Kashmir following a suspected gun attack, police said.

The accident occurred on Sunday near the town of Reasi in the south of the disputed area as the bus was returning from a popular Hindu shrine in the area.

“Militants ambushed the bus and fired indiscriminately. The bus fell into a ravine, resulting in the death of nine pilgrims and injuring 33,” Mohita Sharma, Reasi district police chief, told reporters.

She said the rescue operation had been completed and the injured had been shifted to Narayana Hospital and Reasi District Hospital.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bus was carrying pilgrims to the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi Hindu temple when it was attacked, senior administration official Vishesh Mahajan said.

The leader of the Indian opposition Congress party, Mallikarjun Kharge, condemned the “cruel terrorist attack” in a post on the social media platform X.

Modi’s “boastful propaganda of bringing peace and normalcy … rings hollow,” he said.

The Himalayan region, which Pakistan also claims, has been the scene of fierce conflict since an armed insurgency began in 1989. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, but violence has subsided in recent years.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting and arming the rebels in Kashmir. Islamabad denies this accusation.

The last major attack on Hindu pilgrims in the region occurred in 2017, when a bus was attacked, killing eight people.

Sunday’s attack came a day after police chief RR Swain said the number of local fighters in the area was declining, but 70 to 80 foreign fighters were still active.

Moreover, violence and anti-India protests have also declined dramatically since 2019, when Modi’s government lifted the region’s limited autonomy.

No separatist group called for a boycott of the recently concluded parliamentary elections – a first since the outbreak of armed insurgency in the area.

According to the Indian Election Commission, voter turnout in the region was 58.6 percent, an increase of 30 percentage points from the last vote in 2019 and the highest in 35 years.