SRINAGAR, India: Six Indian tourists were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir while six others who had been held hostage overnight were released Tuesday July 16. Police said the victims’ bodies, riddled with bullets, were discovered near Dal Lake No Kashmiri militant group immediately claimed responsibility.
A so called Militant Coordination Group made up of all the main militant factions issued a press statement last week asking for a ban on excursions and picnicking in Jammu and Kashmir. The group’s appeal, which said tourism, did not go well with the struggle to free the region from Indian rule. Kashmir’s shadowy Al Faran group kidnapped six Western tourists last year. One tourist escaped, one was found beheaded and little is known of the whereabouts of the remaining four. Scenic Dal Lake was a major tourist attraction in Srinagar, the state’s summer capital, before the six year old separatist violence virtually closed down the tourist industry.
