India: Terrorist Attack Kills At Least 9 Hindu Pilgrims
At least nine people were killed and 33 injured after suspected Islamic terrorists opened fire at a bus in the Reasi district of India-controlled Kashmir's Jammu province on Sunday....
Facts
- At least nine people were killed and 33 injured after suspected Islamic terrorists opened fire at a bus in the Reasi district of India-controlled Kashmir's Jammu province on Sunday.1
- According to the police, the bus, which lost control and fell into a deep gorge after its driver was hit, was carrying Hindu pilgrims to the base camp of the famed Hindu temple Mata Vaishno Devi2
- The injured, some of whom reportedly suffered gunshot wounds, were hospitalized and a search is on to apprehend the attackers.3
- Though no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, officials suspect terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad — who allegedly target Indian forces in Jammu's Pir Panjal region — could have carried out Sunday's ambush.4
- The attack coincided with Narendra Modi's swearing-in as Prime Minister in New Delhi, coming a day after police claimed a steep drop in the number of militants in the union territory.5
- Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both lay claim to the volatile territory in its entirety. The conflict has killed several thousand civilians, rebels, and government personnel since 1989.6
Sources: 1Associated Press, 2Independent, 3Dw.Com, 4The Wire, 5Reuters and 6ABC News.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Scroll.in. Instead of bringing peace, India's move to rescind the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir's autonomy and downgrade it to a union territory has revived terrorism in the region. This shameful incident accurately reflects the worrying security situation in an area widely considered militancy-free.
- Narrative B, as provided by Firstpost. The attack is part of a nefarious design to spread unrest in Jammu & Kashmir after India successfully cracked down on militancy and separatist support systems in the region. It was likely a response by disgruntled terrorists to disrupt peace at a time when Narendra Modi was set to take oath as prime minister for a third straight term.
