Gunmen Kill 7 Hindu Pilgrims in Kashmir Attack
"Suddenly, there were gunshots and everyone started pulling down the shutters of their shops
and running for their life." The state’s chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, arrived at the scene shortly after the attack, which she called "an assault on our values and traditions." A former chief minister of the state, Ghulam Nabi Azad, added: "I don’t think anybody in Kashmir would support this attack.
By SAMEER YASIR and ELLEN BARRYJULY 10, 2017
SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Gunmen opened fire on a busload of Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir on Monday, killing at least seven people
and threatening to ignite tensions in a region already deeply divided between Hindus and Muslims.
"These are enemies of Islam, these are terrorists,
and the attack should be investigated." Every summer, as many as 100,000 Hindu pilgrims make a steep trek to a frigid cave where water freezes into a stalagmite shaped like a phallus, which is considered to be a symbol of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.
The pilgrims were returning from a Himalayan shrine when unidentified militants attacked a police patrol
and a security checkpoint, and then fired on the bus near the village of Botengoo, according to Muneer Khan, Kashmir’s inspector general of police.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a coalition of Kashmiri separatist groups, said in a statement
that the attack "goes against the very grain of the Kashmiri ethos." "The Amarnath yatra has been going on peacefully for centuries and is part of our yearly rhythm," the statement said, referring to the pilgrimage.
The procession winds through a part of the disputed territory of Kashmir where Muslim separatists have attacked Hindus in the past, prompting thousands of Indian soldiers
and police officers to be deployed along the pilgrims’ path to provide protection.
