Militants gun down doc, 6 workers as targeted killings shock Kashmir

A doctor and six workers were killed and several injured in a militant attack in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Sunday evening. This is the second attack on migrant workers in the past three days in the Valley.

Home Minister Amit Shah condemns attack, says perpetrators won’t be spared

Police sources said militants fired indiscriminately at a camp housing the workers in the Gagangeer area of the district. The workers were involved in the construction of a key tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh highway, said an official.

According to sources, among the deceased and injured were both locals and non-locals. Several injured were shifted to a hospital in Srinagar. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted on X, "Very sad news of a dastardly and cowardly attack on non-local labourers.”

Omar said, “They were working on a key infrastructure project in the area. I strongly condemn the attack on unarmed innocent people and send my condolences to their loved ones.”

In another post, Omar said the casualty figure “is not final as there are a number of injured labourers, both local and non-local”. “Praying that the injured make a full recovery as the more seriously injured are being referred to the SKIMS, Srinagar,” he said.

The Kashmir police said it was a terror incident and the area had been cordoned off. “Further details shall follow,” it posted on X.

Soon after the attack, top police officers rushed to Ganderbal. In Srinagar, the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner went to the SKIMS. The attack drew strong condemnation from political leaders. Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra condemned the attack, urging the government “to take immediate measures to contain such brutal attacks on innocent labourers”.

The BJP said, "The attack shows frustration on the part of the terrorists as they have failed to face the security forces.”

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari also condemned the horrific terror attack. He said labourers were engaged in a vital infrastructure project.

This is the second attack on migrant workers in the Valley in the past three days. A migrant worker from Bihar was shot dead in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday, two days after the newly elected government was sworn in.

The attack has now renewed the security challenge for the security forces in the Valley after the recently peaceful elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha reiterated the “government's determination to deal firmly with such acts of terrorism and reaffirmed the security forces' resolve to eliminate terror elements.”

“The Lieutenant Governor has spoken to senior officials and directed them to intensify the anti-terror ops in the area,” said an official statement.