In the second dastardly act of terror in the last two days, two non-local construction workers were killed and two others were injured by terrorists near Sonamarg in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir late Sunday evening.

This is also the second major incident of terrorist violence after the formation of the Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to preliminary reports, the terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on the construction of a tunnel in the Gund area in the Ganderbal district. The identity of the deceased could not be ascertained immediately.

Both the workers were shot in the head. Their bodies were seen lying on the floor of the camp while panic-stricken migrant workers were seen taking videos. The workers who were targeted by the group of terrorists were part of the construction team working on the Z Morh tunnel, connecting Gaganeer to Sonamarg in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district.

The 6.412 km long Z-Morh tunnel, a flagship project, aims to ensure all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Sonamarg and Kargil in Ladakh.

A migrant worker, hailing from the Banka district of Bihar, was mercilessly killed by terrorists in the Wachi area of Shopian on Friday.  He worked in the corn fields to earn his livelihood.

Official sources claimed two labourers died on the spot while two others sustained injuries, they said, adding further details are awaited.

Police and army have cordoned off the area to track down the footprints of the terrorists.

Reacting to the news Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted a message on X (earlier Twitter), "Very sad news of a dastardly & cowardly attack on non-local labourers at Gagangir in Sonamarg region. These people were working on a key infrastructure project in the area. 2 have been killed & 2-3 more have been injured in this militant attack. I strongly condemn this attack on unarmed innocent people & send my condolences to their loved ones".

In February this year, two migrant workers hailing from Amritsar were targeted from a close range by unidentified terrorists in the Shaheed Gunj area of Srinagar. A sikh carpenter identified as 31-year-old Amritpal Singh was killed on the spot while another person identified as Rohit Masih succumbed to his critical injuries the next day.

In 2023, a total number of 14 civilians were killed in different incidents of terrorist-related violence while 31 were killed in 2022, 41 in 2021, 38 in 2020, and 44 in 2019 across J&K.