Hundreds of Indian tourists, families and honeymooners, drawn by the breathtaking Himalayan beauty, were enjoying a picture-perfect meadow in Kashmir. They didn’t know gunmen in army fatigues were lurking in the woods.

The offensive occurred amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors in the aftermath of an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir.

India launched strikes on Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday, an assault its neighbour called a "blatant act of war" as tension spirals between the nuclear-armed rivals after a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir.