6 Hindu pilgrims killed in alleged attack in Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

Six Hindu pilgrims were killed and 12 others injured on Monday evening in an alleged militant attack near Botengo village in the southern area of disputed Jammu and Kashmir.

The pilgrims were in Kashmir for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage in which tens of thousands of Hindus from all over India visit a cave in the mountains of South Kashmir to pray.

Jammu and Kashmir police issued a statement saying the militants initially attacked a police mobile bunker at Botengo, and the fire was retaliated.

"Initially there were no reports of injuries. Thereafter the terrorists fired on a police checkpoint near Khanabal," the statement said, adding a tourist bus was also hit by bullets, and 18 tourists were injured.

"Among them six people died while the rest are being treated. The bus was on its way to Jammu from Baltal and was not part of the convoy [of the buses registered for pilgrimage],” it added.

Monday's attack, which, according to police sources, happened at around 8 p.m local time (1430GMT) in Botengo area of Anantnag district, was immediately criticized and condemned by the political leadership leadership in the region across all ideological divides.

While resistance group Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called it a "condemnable act" targeting civilians, the Indian-backed chief minister of the region, Mehbooba Mufti, said that her government would "root out the perpetrators of the attack".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack. "Pained beyond words on dastardly attack on peaceful Amarnath Yatris in J&K. The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone," he said on Twitter.

Indian intelligence agencies had earlier this month said that they had received input of a possible attack by militants on the pilgrimage.

On Thursday, Union Home Secretary, Rajiv Mehrishi, told reporters in New Delhi that they "are well prepared to handle any situation in Kashmir".

"We have sent 214 companies (21,400 personnel) of central forces to control any situation which may arise on July 8 and during Amarnath Yatra," he said.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir. Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.