Terrorists opened fire on a popular meadow near Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring over a dozen, in the deadliest attack in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike.Among the victims is Manjunath, a real-estate businessman from Shivamogga, who had gone to Kashmir to celebrate his son scoring 96% in the PUC-II exams. MP BY Raghavendra, quoting Manjunath’s wife Pallavi, said the terrorists had opened fire after asking him which community he belonged to.Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed that two of the deceased were from the state. Another victim was identified as a man from Balasore, Odisha, who worked at CIPET. A fifth victim was an Intelligence Bureau official from Telangana.The victims also included two foreign nationals and two local residents, according to a senior official, who did not provide further details.The toll is still being ascertained, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while describing the terror attack as “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years.”The incident happened in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley at around 2.30 pm.The Baisaran valley is a famous tourist spot, popularly known as ‘mini Switzerland’ because of its long lush green meadows.A purported video of the attack site emerged showing several people bleeding and lying motionless on the ground while women tourists were wailing and frantically looking for their near and dear ones.”My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack,” a woman survivor was quoted by PTI as saying.The woman did not identify herself but pleaded for help in evacuating the injured to the hospital. Security forces and medical teams rushed to the spot immediately after the incident.
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