Police said multiple tourists received gunshot wounds in the “terror attack” on Tuesday while they were visiting Baisaran meadow, about 5km (3 miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam, Aljazeera reports.

“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.

Indian police told the Associated Press news agency that at least 26 people were killed and 17 wounded in the attack.

A little-known group, Kashmir Resistance, claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message. It expressed discontent that more than 85,000 “outsiders” had been settled in the region, spurring what it called a “demographic change”.

Indian security agencies say Kashmir Resistance is a front for Pakistan-based armed organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, which fight Indian rule in Kashmir. Pakistan has said it only provides moral and diplomatic support.

RHM/