SECURITY was tightened up across Indian-controlled Kashmir yesterday, a day after an attack killed at least 26 people, most of them tourists.

This came as Indian forces launched a massive manhunt for the perpetrators of one of the deadliest attacks in the disputed Himalayan region.

As investigators began probing the attack, many shops and businesses in Kashmir closed to protest the killings following a call from the region's religious and political parties.

Tens of thousands of armed police and soldiers fanned out across the region and erected additional checkpoints. They searched cars and in some areas summoned former militants to police stations for questioning, reports said.

Police described the incidents as a "terror attack" and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Global condemnation for Tuesday’s rare attack on the tourists came swiftly, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to New Delhi early Wednesday.

Officials said 24 of the people killed were Indian tourists, one was from Nepal and one was a local tourist guide. At least 17 others were injured.

Kashmir has seen a spate of deadly attacks on Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, since New Delhi ended the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019 and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms.

Following the attack, panicked tourists started to leave Kashmir.

Monojit Debnath, a tourist from the Indian city of Kolkata, said Kashmir was undoubtedly beautiful but his family did not feel secure any more.

“We are tourists, and we should think about what safety we have here for us,” Debnath told the Press Trust of India news agency.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it strongly condemned “the barbaric killing” and described the perpetrators as “the enemies of the nation and more so of the people of Kashmir.”

The CPI (M) added: “It is incumbent on the central government to probe all angles of the attack including the lack of security in crowded tourist places.”

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir.

Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India describes militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.