The Kulgam terror attack death toll rose to two on Saturday, August 1, 2026, after a non-local worker who was critically injured in a targeted shooting in south Kashmir succumbed to his wounds, officials in Srinagar said. The victim, identified as Bhopendra from Chhattisgarh, had been shifted to a Srinagar hospital on Friday night with chest injuries before he died on Saturday, according to officials cited by The Hindu.
The attack took place on Friday evening, July 31, when suspected terrorists opened fire on non-local labourers working at a brick kiln in the Kelam area of Kulgam district, roughly 70 kilometres from Srinagar. Officials said two labourers, both in their twenties and both from Chhattisgarh, were injured in the assault. One of them, identified as Deepak Ratray, 24, succumbed to his injuries at the scene before he could be taken to a hospital. The attackers managed to flee the area under the cover of darkness, officials said.
The second worker, whose name has been given by officials as Bopinder, 28 , reported by some outlets as Bhopendra , was rushed first to Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag before being referred to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Soura, Srinagar, where he was treated for chest injuries. He died during treatment on Saturday morning, taking the death toll in the Kulgam terror attack to two, according to hospital and police officials.
Security forces have since cordoned off the area and resumed search operations across parts of south Kashmir in an effort to track down those responsible, amid an already tense security situation across the country. Authorities have also increased security around the ongoing Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage as a precautionary measure following the attack.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned what he called a brutal terror attack on labourers and directed security forces to step up operations and eliminate the attackers. Officials said Sinha spoke with Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat and other senior security officials shortly after the attack was reported, and was briefed on the cordon-and-search operation launched in the Kelam area. Sinha said the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the entire nation stood with the affected families.
The Kulgam attack is the latest in a series of targeted assaults on non-local workers in the Kashmir Valley, a pattern that has repeatedly drawn condemnation from the region’s administration and security establishment. Migrant labourers from states such as Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh form a significant part of the workforce in construction, brick kilns and other manual trades across Jammu and Kashmir, and have previously been targeted in attacks blamed on militant groups seeking to disrupt normalcy in the region. Officials noted that the assault comes less than ten days after a separate attack in Anantnag town in which a police officer was shot and killed, pointing to a recent uptick in militant activity in south Kashmir, though authorities have not confirmed any direct link between the two incidents.
As of Saturday morning, no group had claimed responsibility for the Kulgam shooting, and the identities of the attackers had not been confirmed. Officials said search operations were continuing in forested and hilly terrain near the attack site, and further details were expected as the investigation progressed. The Hindu reported that forces were separately engaging two groups of terrorists in forested areas of Jammu and Kashmir, though it could not be confirmed whether that operation is directly linked to the Kulgam killings.
Security agencies have not released an official casualty toll beyond the two confirmed deaths, and no additional injuries among workers at the brick kiln have been reported. Local authorities in Kulgam are expected to provide further updates as search operations continue.
Official Source(s)
Jammu and Kashmir Police: https://jkpolice.gov.in/
Lieutenant Governor, Jammu & Kashmir: https://jklokbhavan.nic.in/
News source: The Hindu
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