Gunmen killed at least 26 people and injured a dozen others in the disputed Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, a rare assault on tourists in an area fraught by decades of insurgency and opposition to India’s rule.

Twenty-six men were killed and 17 were injured when suspected militants opened fire at tourists in India's Jammu and Kashmir territory, police said.

It was the deadliest attack against civilians in years in Kashmir, a region claimed by both India and Pakistan that has been racked by violence for decades.