Gunmen behind Kashmir tourist attack killed: minister
Amit Shah said the three men were Pakistani nationals who were killed in a joint operation by the military, paramilitary and police on Monday on the outskirts of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar.
Shah made the remarks in India's lower house of the parliament, and The Associated Press could not independently verify the details.
Shah said the bodies of the men were identified by people who had provided food and shelter to them before they carried out the massacre in April.
He cited a forensic report and said the rifle cartridges found at Monday's gunbattle site matched those used during the attack.
The April gun massacre killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists.
New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.
It led to tit-for-tat military strikes by India and Pakistan that brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of their third war over the region.
Dozens of people were killed on both sides until a ceasefire was reached on May 10 after US mediation.
The four-day fighting between the nuclear-armed rivals was their worst in decades.
Before the April gun massacre in the Kashmiri resort town of Pahalgam, fighting had largely ebbed in the region's Kashmir Valley, the heartland of anti-India rebellion and mainly shifted to mountainous areas of Jammu in the past few years.
India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989.
India describes militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism, which Pakistan denies.
Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
16 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Sky News Contributor Louise Roberts says a pro Palestinian protest over the Sydney Harbour Bridge is madess
This Sunday a radical activist collective - the Palestine Action Group - wants to shut down the Sydney Harbour Bridge to stage a pro-Palestinian protest. NSW Premier Chris Minns says he will not allow our steel and granite symbol of unity and resilience to be closed 'under any circumstances'. Good. Let's be clear: no one is denying the right to protest and no one wants innocent civilians in Gaza starving to death. Yes, the suffering we are witnessing from the safety of Australia is undeniable and to wholesale blame Israel for this is appalling when Hamas has the region in its cruel, iron grip. Hijacking the Harbour Bridge to stage a global political spectacle from Sydney is not peaceful protest. It is theatrics disguised as justice. Mr Minns and NSW Police have said they would support the protest if it is held at another location or time. The Palestine Action Group, I would argue, is not purely a group calling for peace and critical help for perishing and injured citizens in the Middle East. To be blunt, some of them include people who, since the October 7 2023 Hamas terrorist slaughter, have waved flags for a cause that routinely veers into anti-Semitic slogans and chants for Israel to be wiped off the map. When organisers like Josh Lees claim the Australian government is 'enabling genocide' through arms exports, the focus shifts dramatically. Is this truly a call for humanitarian aid or has the march became a political battering ram aimed at Canberra? NSW Police, under Deputy Commissioner Thurtell, have shown remarkable restraint. They have enabled more than 100 pro-Palestine demonstrations since the horrors of October 7, despite the appalling aftermath of the protest on the Opera House steps. That is not police obstruction. It is operational goodwill. Organisers point to past closures of the bridge, such as for a Ryan Gosling film and World Pride, but those events were widely supported and carefully planned. Mr Minns is treading a fine line between recognising public sentiment and upholding civic order. Meanwhile across the border in Victoria, it's the same story. No surprise. Pro-Palestine protesters are planning to block Melbourne's King Street Bridge this weekend despite warnings from police. Hundreds of officers will be redeployed to manage this event which will drag resources away from crime, emergencies and actual policing duties. What has become clear is this: the bridge protests aren't about peace or humanitarian concern. They are about headlines and optics. 'Block the City for Gaza' reads the posters. Not help Gaza. All of this is unfolding as Australia moves closer to recognising a Palestinian state, with suggestions that the Albanese government likely to join the UK, France and Canada in supporting the move as part of efforts toward a two-state solution. This is despite fears, led by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, that this decision would fuel Hamas. Respected Jewish leader Mark Leibler this week reminded Mr Albanese of his own conditions on this very issue: no recognition until Hamas is disarmed and the hostages are freed. Neither has happened. In an interview with The Australian, Mr Leibler's warning couldn't be clearer - premature recognition punishes the innocent and rewards terror. Israeli hostages will still be underground, Palestinian civilians will still be suffering and meanwhile Hamas is emboldened by every Western government desperate to look progressive. Social media messages this week ahead of the march from The Palestine Action Group include this: 'In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians.' And this: 'Chris Minns: get out of the way we're stopping a genocide'. Plus more: 'The bridge is really important. The Zionists are comfortable in the city, with enormous power over media and institutions. A big march on the bridge will make them uncomfortable, will hit back.' 'See you there!' 'The cops can't arrest all of us even if it doesn't win in court.' 'Where can I get a Palestinian flag?" And so on. No mention of the mother and baby butchers and rapists of Hamas, then. It is always what evil Israel 'is doing'. Fighting the police decision in NSW's Supreme Court is not about protesting. It is about power. And they want to see if they can take it from us. And the Premier, under fire for his handling of the situation, has been more than reasonable. One MP even accused him of caring more about 'traffic flow than starving children.' Protest isn't a free pass. It doesn't allow you to bring national infrastructure to a halt just because you are passionate about a cause.
Sky News AU
18 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump moves submarines towards Russia following 'highly provocative' comments from ex-Russian president
US President Donald Trump has ordered two nuclear submarines to be "positioned in the appropriate regions" in response to war accusations from Russia's Dmitry Medvedev. Mr Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, taunted with Mr Trump and his threats towards Russia over a Ukraine ceasefire. 'Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war,' Mr Medvedev said on X. Following the post, the President took to Truth Social to announce he had 'ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that'. 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' Mr Trump did not specify what he meant by "nuclear submarines". Submarines may be nuclear-powered or armed with nuclear missiles. He also did not indicate which specific statement made by Mr Medvedev prompted the retaliation. Mr Medvedev served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012. Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev have exchanged taunts in recent days after the US President on Tuesday said Russia had '10 days from today" to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit with tariffs, along with its oil buyers. Medvedev on Thursday said Trump should remember Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort, after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words". Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace in Ukraine, has given no indication it will comply with Trump's deadline of August 8. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, he hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in Russia's favour. He made no reference to the deadline. Mr Trump, who in the past touted good relations with Putin, has expressed mounting frustration with the Russian leader, accusing him of "bullsh**" and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as disgusting. Mr Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Trump also rebuked Medvedev in July, accusing him of throwing around the "N (nuclear) word" after the Russian official criticised US strikes on Iran and said "a number of countries" were ready to supply Iran with nuclear warheads. Only six countries operate nuclear-powered submarines: the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and India. The US Navy has 71 commissioned submarines including 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic-missile submarines, and four guided-missile submarines. All of them are nuclear-powered, but only some carry nuclear weapon-tipped missiles. With Reuters
7NEWS
19 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Trump sends nuclear subs towards Russia after ‘foolish and inflammatory' threats
US President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the 'appropriate regions' in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. 'I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,' Trump said in a social media post on Friday that called Medvedev's statements highly provocative. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' Trump and Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, traded taunts in recent days after Trump on Tuesday said Russia had '10 days from today' to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit, along with its oil buyers, with tariffs. Trump has expressed mounting frustration with Putin, accusing him of 'bullshit' and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as 'disgusting' Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace in Ukraine, has shown no sign that it will comply with Trump's deadline. Medvedev on Monday accused Trump of engaging in a 'game of ultimatums' and reminded him that Russia possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort after Trump told Medvedev to 'watch his words.' Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Kremlin critics deride him as an irresponsible loose cannon, though some Western diplomats say his statements illustrate the thinking in senior Kremlin policy-making circles. Earlier on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favour, signalling no shift in his stance despite Washington's threats.. Putin, without referring to the Trump deadline, said three sessions of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results, and Russia was expecting negotiations to continue. 'As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule,' he said. 'But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process.' He said Russian troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line and that the momentum was in their favour, citing the announcement by his Defence Ministry on Thursday that Moscow's forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar after a 16-month battle. Ukraine denied that Chasiv Yar is under full Russian control. Ukraine for months has been urging an immediate ceasefire but Russia says it wants a final and durable settlement, not a pause. Since the peace talks began in Istanbul in May, it has conducted some of its heaviest air strikes of the war, especially on the capital Kyiv. The Ukrainian government has said the Russian negotiators do not have the mandate to take significant decisions and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Putin to meet him for talks. 'We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too,' Zelenskiy said on Friday on X, reiterating his call for direct talks between him and Putin. 'The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness.' Russia says a leaders' meeting could only take place to set the seal on agreements reached by negotiators. Ukraine and its European allies have frequently said they do not believe Putin is really interested in peace and have accused him of stalling, which the Kremlin denies.
