President Donald Trump extended his “deepest sympathies” on Tuesday after gunmen reportedly killed at least 20 people in India’s Kashmir region.
“Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism. We pray for the souls of those lost, and for the recovery of the injured. Prime Minister Modi, and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies. Our hearts are with you all!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump had been briefed by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on the matter.
Trump will speak with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “as soon as he possibly can to express his heartfelt condolences for those lost,” Leavitt said at Tuesday’s White House briefing. “And our prayers are with those injured in our nation’s support for our ally, India. These types of horrific events by terrorists are why those of us who work for peace and stability in the world continue our mission. So we’ll give you a readout of that call later this afternoon.”
Leavitt said the press may hear from Trump directly later Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting coincided with Vice President JD Vance and his family’s visit to India.
Vance met with Modi on Monday and delivered a speech on strengthening the economic partnership between their two nations in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur earlier Tuesday.
“Usha and I extend our condolences to the victims of the devastating terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India,” the vice president wrote on X after the attack. “Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack.”
Indian police said gunmen shot dead at least 20 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir in what appeared to be a major shift in the regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared.
Modi said he strongly condemned “the terror attack” in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and offered condolences to those who have lost their loved ones.
“I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi wrote on X. “All possible assistance is being provided to those affected. Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice…they will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger.”
VANCE WAS ONE OF POPE FRANCIS’ LAST VISITORS
The country’s police also described the incident as a “terror attack” and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule.
“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.
Two senior police officers said at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired at dozens of tourists from close range, according to the Associated Press. The officers said at least three dozen others were injured, many in serious condition.
Most of the tourists killed were Indian, the officers reportedly told the AP on condition of anonymity, in keeping with departmental policy.
Officials collected at least 20 bodies in Baisaran meadow, some three miles from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam.
The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day as Kashmir, known for Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, has become a major domestic tourist destination. It has drawn millions of visitors who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers.
“We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” India’s home minister, Amit Shah, wrote on social media. He arrived in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and convened a meeting with top security officials. He said Modi, on an official visit in Saudi Arabia, has been briefed.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key resistance politician and Kashmir’s top religious cleric, condemned what he described as a “cowardly attack on tourists,” writing on social media that “such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir which welcomes visitors with love and warmth.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
