Asia

Asia

6 Hindu pilgrims killed in alleged attack in Kashmir

10 July 2017 22:37 (UTC +04:00)

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, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.

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.

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.