SRINAGAR, India (AP) 鈥� Multiple deaths are feared after gunmen indiscriminately fired at tourists in on Tuesday, officials said, with police calling it a 鈥渢error attack" and blaming militants fighting against Indian rule.
"This attack is much larger than anything we鈥檝e seen directed at civilians in recent years," Omar Abdullah, the region鈥檚 top elected official, wrote on social media.
鈥淭he death toll is still being ascertained so I don鈥檛 want to get into those details,鈥� he said.
Initial reports said gunmen sprayed bullets at mostly Indian tourists visiting Baisaran meadow, some five kilometers (three miles) from the disputed region鈥檚 resort town of Pahalgam.
Police said multiple tourists had gunshot wounds, and officials were evacuating them to hospitals.
Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a hunt for the attackers.
The attack coincided with the visit to India of , who is on a largely personal .
The meadow in Pahalgam is a top sightseeing destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
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 the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
The Associated Press
