Gunmen opened fire on tourists in a town in Kashmir state on Monday, local authorities said, adding that there could be many casualties.
Indian police said it was a "terrorist attack" by fighters fighting against Indian rule in the Kashmir region near the tourist town of Pahalgam.
Initial reports indicate that gunmen opened fire on tourists, mostly Indians, who were visiting the Baisaran Valley, about three miles from Pahalgam. Police said several tourists were shot and that rescue teams were transporting the injured to hospitals.
The authorities have increased the number of security forces and cordoned off the area, as they begin a search for the attackers. No further details have been released by local officials so far.
The valley in Pahalgam is a major tourist destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with dense pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
India and Pakistan both rule parts of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Fighters in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir have been fighting the government in New Delhi since 1989. Many Kashmiri Muslims support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists that the dissident movements in Kashmir are terrorist and sponsored by Pakistan.
Pakistan denies the accusation, and many Kashmiri residents consider it a legitimate freedom struggle.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
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