Latest attack comes amid a rise in militancy in the turbulent Jammu and Kashmir region
At least four people, including two soldiers and two civilians, have been killed after militants sprayed bullets at an Indian army vehicle in the Jammu and Kashmir region bordering Pakistan. Three other soldiers sustained injuries, Indian media reported on Friday.
The People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), believed to be an offshoot of the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-E-Mohammed, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place near the resort town of Gulmarg, according to reports. Notably, the group orchestrated a suicide bombing in Kashmir’s Pulwama region in 2019 which killed 40 Indian army personnel and further strained ties between the two South Asian neighbors.
“A massive search operation has been launched against the militants responsible for the attack,” an army official, who was not named, told Reuters. The official said that additional reinforcements have been sent to the area. India’s army deployed drones and helicopters to scan the area where the attack occurred, reports stated.
The incident comes amid a worsening security situation in the region, which recently held its first local assembly elections in ten years. On Sunday, militants shot dead at least seven people and injured five others working on a tunnel project near another resort town, Sonamarg. Omar Abdullah, the newly-elected chief minister of the union territory, described the recent spate of attacks as “a matter of serious concern” in a post on X.
The latest attacks also come after Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s recent visit to Pakistan – the first by any foreign minister of the country in nine years – to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Prior to his visit, Jaishankar condemned Islamabad for its “cross-border terrorism policy,” asserting that it will “never succeed.”
Kashmir has been a point of contention between India and Pakistan for decades, with both countries claiming it as their own. New Delhi has repeatedly accused Islamabad of supporting cross-border terrorism and militancy in the Muslim-majority area, while Islamabad has accused India of violating the humanitarian rights of the region’s residents.
Ties between India and Pakistan have been frosty since 2019, following the Pulwama attack in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. In response, New Delhi conducted a “surgical strike” against the terrorist group in Pakistan’s Balakot. Later in 2019, Islamabad downgraded its relations with New Delhi after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led federal government revoked special constitutional privileges for the region.
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