Security forces have launched a manhunt after gunmen opened fire on tourists and killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir’s worst attack on civilians in almost a quarter of a century.

All those killed in Tuesday’s attack were listed as residents of India, except for one man from Nepal.

A statement issued in the name of The Resistance Front (TRF), which is believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The statement linked the attacks to the thousands of residency permits being handed over to Indian citizens, allowing them to settle in Kashmir. Global News Insight could not independently confirm the statement’s authenticity.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the attack had been “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians” in recent years.

The bodies of those killed were brought to Srinagar by a fleet of ambulances on Wednesday as military helicopters soared overhead, searching the forested mountain flanks for signs of the attackers.

“This attack on our visitors is an abomination,” Abdullah said in a statement.

The killings led to global condemnation.

United States President Donald Trump called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer “full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack”.

China, which neighbours the troubled region, offered its “sincere sympathies” to the families of those killed.

Authorities in recent years have promoted the mountainous region as a holiday destination for skiing during winter and to escape the sweltering summer heat elsewhere in India.

About 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir last year, mostly domestic visitors.