Crowds of Indian protesters who were demonstrating the most recent attack on a police convoy in Kashmir burnt Pakistani flags as discord between the two nuclear neighbors continues to grow.
Footage taken at several protests held across India following the attack that claimed the lives of at least 44 Indian policemen showed crowds shouting anti-Pakistan slogans and raising placards accusing the Muslim-majority neighboring state of “supporting terror.”
Police said 44 troops were killed on Thursday when an explosive-laden vehicle rammed into a paramilitary bus along the Jammu-Kashmir highway. Media reports and government sources who spoke anonymously to Anadolu Agency claim the death toll has crossed 44.
Jaish-e-Mohammad, a militant group, claimed responsibility of the attack releasing pictures of a 22-year-old suicide bomber.
This is the worst attack in decades in the insurgency hit region and comes months before Modi is seeking a second term in general elections.
India vowed a "heavy price" for those behind the attack, while Pakistan expressed "grave concern" over the bombing and rejected "any insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government seeking to link the attack to Pakistan without investigation," according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
Condemning the attack, the Turkish government also expressed concern over the recent increase in tension and casualties in the region.
