SRINAGAR- At least three gunmen attacked a hotel in the restive region of Indian Held Kashmir, killing a bellboy and leaving at least two other people injured, Indian security forces claimed on Friday.
The armed men began shooting outside the Silver Star hotel on the outskirts of the main city of Srinagar at about 4:30 pm (1100 GMT) before entering the premises and firing ‘indiscriminately,’ according to a police statement.
The dead man was a bellboy, a senior security official said from the scene, while police said two others have been “rushed to hospital where they are being operated upon.”
Afadal Mujtaba, a deputy inspector general for Srinagar police, said that “these three gunmen opened fire and killed this boy and injured two others.”
Dozens of soldiers and paramilitary police called to the spot cordoned off the four-storey hotel and were undertaking a search inside the hotel and the surrounding area to try to catch the gunmen, who are thought to have fled.
The motive for the attack remained unclear, although the police referred to the attackers as ‘militants’.
The Silver Star hotel is large mid-range hotel mostly popular with domestic tourists.