Attack targeting workers in IIOJK kills 7, several others wounded

At least seven people were killed and several others were injured after gunmen in Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK) opened fire on a construction site work camp, according to Indian media reports on Monday.

The attack, which took place on Sunday in Gagangir in Sonamarg region, marks one of the deadliest assaults on civilians this year.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack as "deadly and cowardly," while India's interior minister Amit Shah pledged that those responsible would face the "harshest" response.

According to AFP, the attackers specifically targeted workers from outside the region who were engaged in constructing a tunnel to connect IIOJK with the northern Ladakh region.

In its report on Monday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency revealed that a doctor was also among the seven killed.

Abdullah, who was sworn in as the region's chief minister on Wednesday after its first local elections for a decade, said he strongly condemned the attack on "non-local labourers".

Soon after the attack, Abdullah confirmed two people had been killed but had warned there were also "a number of injured labourers, both local and non-local".

Shah called the killings "a despicable act of cowardice", in a statement.

"Those involved in this heinous act will not be spared, and will face the harshest response from our security forces," said Shah.

The attack took place Gagangir in Sonamarg region, where Nitin Gadkari, India's minister of roads said the "innocent labourers" had been working on a "vital infrastructure project".

Gunmen fired automatic weapons at the camp from forested hills around, Indian newspapers reported.

Nine Indian Hindu pilgrims were killed and dozens more wounded in June when a gunman opened fire on a bus carrying them from a shrine in Reasi district.