At least seven persons were killed and five others were injured on Sunday in a militant attack at a camp set up near a construction site in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, The Indian Express reported.
One of those killed was a doctor from the Budgam district, while the other six were workers from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and the Jammu region. The construction workers were employees of an infrastructure company that is building the Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Sonamarg road. They were staying at a camp set up for them near the Sonamarg health resort along the Srinagar-Leh national highway.
On Sunday, suspected militants opened fire at the camp site as the men were having dinner, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officers as saying. Two militants snapped the electricity and opened fire, unidentified government officials quoted those injured in the attack as saying.
The doctor who died was identified as Shahnawaz, while the construction workers were Gurmeet Singh, Anil Kumar Shukla, Faheem Nazir, Shashi Abrol, Mohd Hanief and Kaleem, PTI reported.
Of the five workers who have been injured, two are from the Kashmir region, two from the Jammu region and one from Bihar. They have been taken to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar for specialised treatment, according to The Indian Express.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police described the attack as a “terror incident” and said that security forces have cordoned off the area.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the attack “dastardly and cowardly”.
In a social media post, he said: “I strongly condemn this attack on unarmed innocent people and send my condolences to their loved ones.”
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said he strongly condemned the attack, adding that the labourers were engaged in a vital infrastructure project.
The attack on Sunday came two days after a migrant worker from Bihar was killed by suspected militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday.
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