Gunmen kill seven people working on key tunnel project in India’s Kashmir

It is the 2nd onslaught connected non-local workers successful the disputed portion since a section authorities was sworn successful past week.

Gunmen person killed 7 radical moving connected a strategical passageway task successful Indian-administered Kashmir and injured astatine slightest 5 others, officials say, successful 1 of the worst attacks successful the disputed portion this twelvemonth targeting civilians.

Police connected Monday blamed the rebels warring against Indian rule for what they called a “terror attack” astatine a campy for operation workers astatine Gagangir, adjacent the edifice municipality of Sonamarg.

Police said astatine slightest 2 attackers fired “indiscriminately” astatine officials and workers associated with the operation connected Sunday night, sidesplitting 2 radical connected the spot. At slightest 10 others were taken to hospital, wherever 5 much died.

The onslaught came soon aft workers returned to their lodgings. The dormant included 5 migrant workers and officials, 1 Kashmiri idiosyncratic and a Kashmiri doctor.

Villagers connection ceremonial prayers adjacent the assemblage of Kashmiri doc Shahnawaz astatine Nadigam village, southwest of Srinagar, Kashmir [Mukhtar Khan/AP]

Reinforcements of constabulary and equipped forces launched hunt operations successful the country to apprehension the attackers.

Omar Abdullah, the region’s main minister, condemned the onslaught successful a station connected societal media level X, calling it “dastardly and cowardly”. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah said those liable would look the “harshest” response.

Hundreds of people, mostly labourers from different states of India, are moving connected the ambitious passageway task that aims to link the Kashmir vale with Ladakh, a acold godforsaken portion that is isolated for fractional the twelvemonth due to the fact that of snowfalls. Experts accidental the passageway task is important to the military, which volition summation importantly improved capabilities to run successful Ladakh.

A autobus carrying journalists takes a circuit of the under-construction Z-Morh passageway [File: Dar Yasin/AP]

The strategically important portion shares de facto borders with Pakistan and China, and Indian and Chinese soldiers person been engaged successful a subject standoff determination since 2020. Both countries person stationed tens of thousands of soldiers there, backed by artillery, tanks and combatant jets.

Second onslaught since the vote

Sunday’s onslaught was the 2nd onslaught connected migrant workers successful the portion since a mostly powerless section authorities was sworn in on Wednesday, pursuing the archetypal section elections since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities stripped the portion of semiautonomy 5 years ago.

On Friday, the assemblage of a idiosyncratic from eastbound Bihar state, riddled with slug wounds, was recovered from a maize tract successful confederate Shopian district, constabulary said. They suspected rebels down the killing.

Kashmir has witnessed a spate of killings, galore targeting workers from different parts of India, since 2021. Police accidental the killings, which person besides included section Muslim colony councillors, constabulary officials and civilians, person been carried retired by anti-India rebels.

India and Pakistan each administer a portion of Kashmir, but some assertion the territory successful its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals person fought 2 of their 3 wars implicit the territory since they gained independency from British assemblage regularisation successful 1947.

Rebels successful Kashmir person been warring New Delhi’s regularisation since 1989. Many Kashmiris enactment the rebels’ extremity of uniting the territory, either nether Pakistani regularisation oregon arsenic an autarkic country.

India insists that the Kashmir rebellion is “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism”. Pakistan denies the charge, and galore Kashmiris see it a state struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and service and constabulary unit person been killed successful the conflict.