Srinagar, India, Jun 10 (EFE).- The Indian army launched a search operation on Monday to capture insurgents behind an attack on a Hindu pilgrim bus in India-controlled Kashmir, which killed at least nine people and injured 33.
The operation is being carried out in a dense forest region near the site of the attack, using surveillance equipment and sniffer dogs searching the area, a police officer from Kashmir’s Reasi district, where the incident occurred, told EFE on conditions of anonymity.
“Teams of the Forensic Science Laboratory and the State Disaster Response Force have also arrived at the site,” the official said.
The attack took place around 6:10 pm on Sunday, when several insurgents opened fire on the vehicle and injured the driver, who lost control of the bus and it fell into a ravine.
The vehicle had started its journey at the Hindu shrine of Shiv Khori and was on its way to the town of Katra, more than two hours away.
“So far, militants were mostly targeting security forces or non-local workers (…) now they are targeting even pilgrims,” a political science scholar, who did not wish to be named, told EFE.
The attack came as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in as head of government on Sunday following his victory in the country’s recent general elections.
Since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Pakistan has disputed India’s sovereignty over the region, over which they have fought three wars and other minor clashes.
India, in turn, accuses Pakistan of promoting terrorism in the region. EFE
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