Deadly Kashmir attack triggers massive Indian security crackdown and manhunt

They came dressed like locals, silent in their movements, but armed with calculated cruelty. In a narrow valley near Pahalgam, surrounded by pine forests and mountain air, gunmen ambushed a group of unsuspecting tourists. Twenty-six lives ended in seconds. Seventeen more lay injured, many of them critically. Among the dead were families on vacation, one guide, and a visitor from Nepal. The attackers used body cameras, suggesting a motive far beyond chaos. This was designed for replay, for narrative, for fear.

Pahalgam, once a pocket of calm in Indian-controlled Kashmir, has become the scene of its bloodiest assault in years. Security officials are calling this a turning point. The gunmen did not vanish into the night. They left behind spent shells, footprints, faces caught on witness accounts. They knew this terrain. It was no random act.

The Indian government, caught off-guard, launched one of its largest crackdowns in recent history. Thousands of armed personnel were dispatched overnight. Checkpoints rose at every mountain pass. Tourists fled en masse, crowding bus stations and airports. The economic pulse of the region, its fragile tourist economy, collapsed in a matter of hours. Hotels emptied. Tour guides wept.

SAD NEWS....That is rough/tough territory but I imagine the authorities have a pretty good idea where to start looking..Hope they wind them up soon WITHOUT mercy. No number of survivors given but must be most of this is from those who survived - body cameras worn etc. In the states, someone would have been taking pictures with their phones! These were tourists so maybe they did...

I get subs at the supermarket deli every time I shop and the workers there are from India/Pakistan/Bangladesh - both male and female...they are happy people, kind and pleasant to customers and to one another. I think of the troubles those countries have had with one another over history when I watch them work together.

Throughout the store, there are employees from Ecuador, Columbia, Nigeria, you name it. I’m the curious sort so I ask - they’re pleased to share. Those at the deli start making my sub the minute they see me walking toward them...the right kind of bread etc. I told them recently I’ll surprise them some day and get something different.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.