Gunmen kill 7 people working on a strategic tunnel project in
Indian-controlled Kashmir
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[October 21, 2024]
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — 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 “terror attack” at a camp for construction workers near
the disputed region’s resort town of Sonamarg. No rebel group
immediately claimed responsibility.
Police said at least two gunmen fired “indiscriminately” 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.
Omar Abdullah, the region's top elected official, condemned the attack
in a post on social media platform X, calling it “dastardly & cowardly.”
A key Kashmiri resistance leader said he was “deeply saddened by the
outrageous killings.”
“Another grim reminder of the unending cycle of violence and uncertainty
we are suffering for decades,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq 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 engaged in a
military standoff there since 2020. Both countries have stationed tens
of thousands of soldiers there, backed by artillery, tanks and fighter
jets.
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Villagers shout slogans during the funeral of Kashmiri doctor
Shahnawaz who was among those killed when gunmen fired at people
working on a strategic tunnel project in Indian-controlled Kashmir,
at Nadigam village, southwest of Srinagar, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024.
(AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Sunday’s attack was the second attack on a non-local worker in the
region since a largely powerless local government was sworn into
office 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 spate of killings, 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’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support
the rebels’ 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.
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