Seven workers killed in militant attack in Indian Kashmir

MADRID 20 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least seven people, including a doctor, have been killed in a militant attack on employees of a highway tunnel construction site in Ganderbal district in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.

The assailants fired automatic weapons at the workers at around 8:15 p.m. on Sunday (4:15 p.m. Spanish peninsular time), according to the ‘Times of India’ newspaper.

Among the deceased are doctor Shahnawaz, Gurmeet Singh (30 years old), Inder Yadav (35 years old), Mohan Lal (30 years old) and Jagtar Singh (30 years old), all of them from other Indian regions. There are also several more people injured in what is already the deadliest attack in Kashmir so far this year.

The tunnel will connect Gagangir with the tourist town of Sonamarg by highway, a road that connects the Kashmir Valley with Ladaj and is scheduled to be inaugurated in the first week of November.

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has condemned this attack and promised that “those involved in this heinous act will not be spared and will face the harshest response from our security forces.” “At this time of immense pain, I extend my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Shah posted on his X account.

Pakistan and India have disputed the region of historic Kashmir since 1947 and have fought over it in two of the three wars they have had since their independence from the United Kingdom. In 1999 there was a brief but intense military confrontation between both nuclear powers and since 2003 a fragile truce has been maintained.