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9 Hindu pilgrims dead after militant attack in India’s Kashmir

  • Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying pilgrims. Attack came around an hour before Hindu-nationalist PM Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term

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An injured man is brought to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu after a bus crash in the Pouni area of Jammu’s Reasi district, India on Sunday. Photo: AP

Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Indian-administered Kashmir, which then tumbled into a ravine killing at least nine people, police said on Sunday.

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The attack came around an hour before Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term on Sunday evening in the capital New Delhi.

“Initial reports suggest that militants were waiting there in an ambush and they fired on the bus,” police officer Mohita Sharma said.

“The driver lost control and fell into the deep gorge. Nine people died and 23 were injured.”

An injured man is brought to the government hospital in Jammu after a bus crash on Sunday. Photo: AP
An injured man is brought to the government hospital in Jammu after a bus crash on Sunday. Photo: AP

The crash happened near Reasi town, in the south of the disputed territory, as the bus was returning from a popular Hindu shrine in the area.

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Opposition Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the “gruesome terror attack” in a post on social media platform X.

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