At least three dozen people are believed to have been injured, many of them seriously. The attack took place in the popular tourist resort of Pahalgam and is described as the worst in a long time.
"The attack is much larger than anything we've seen targeting civilians in recent years," says Omar Abdullah, a high-ranking politician in the region of Jammu and Kashmir, in a statement.
India's Home Minister Amit Shah says he is on his way to the area and promises "the strictest consequences" for the perpetrators.
"Those involved in this brutal terrorist attack will not be spared," he says in a statement.
Nuclear powers India and Pakistan control each their part of the scenic mountain region of Kashmir, but both claim the entire area. Since 1989, mainly Muslim rebel groups have been fighting against Indian rule.
In 2019, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to revoke Kashmir's special status with self-governance, aiming to make the region a state.
The deadliest attack in recent years occurred in Pulwama in February 2019, when a car loaded with explosives rammed into police cars and killed 40 people.
