Priyanka Gandhi condemns killing of 7 civilians in Ganderbal terror attack

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday, 20 October, condoled the deaths in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal and said killing innocent civilians and spreading violence and terror among the people are crimes against humanity.

A doctor and six labourers were killed when terrorists struck a tunnel construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway on Sunday, officials said.

The unidentified terrorists carried out the attack when the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project at Gund in Ganderbal had returned to their camp late in the evening, they said.

The terrorists -- believed to be at least two -- opened indiscriminate fire on the group of labourers that included both locals and non-locals, they said.

In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said the killing of six civilians, including five labourers, in a cowardly terrorist attack in Ganderbal is highly condemnable.

"Acts like killing innocent civilians and spreading violence and terror among the general public are crimes against humanity. The whole country is united against this," she said.

"My deepest condolences to the bereaved families and I wish the injured a speedy recovery," she said.

While two labourers died on the spot, four others and the doctor succumbed to their injuries subsequently, the officials said, adding that five people are undergoing treatment for injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Dr Shahnawaz, Faheem Nazir, Kaleem, Mohammad Hanif, Shashi Abrol, Anil Shukla and Gurmeet Singh.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the attackers, the officials said.

Top security officials, including inspector general of police (IGP), Kashmir, V.K. Birdi, have reached the spot to assess the situation.

Meanwhile, chief minister Omar Abdullah said the number of casualties in the attack may go up.

"The casualty figure from the Gagangir attack is not final as there are a number of injured labourers, both local and non-local. Praying that the injured make a full recovery as the more seriously injured are being referred to SKIMS, Srinagar," he said in a post on X.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra expressed grave concern over the attack and said such incidents will vitiate the atmosphere in the Union Territory. He urged the government to take immediate measures to prevent such brutal attacks on innocent labourers.