India defense minister vows 'loud and clear' response to Kashmir attack

India's defense minister said Wednesday that those who carried out and planned the worst attack on civilians in years in Indian administered Kashmir would face a swift response.

"Those responsible and behind such an act will very soon hear our response, loud and clear," Rajnath Singh said in a speech in New Delhi, a day after gunmen killed 26 men at a tourist hotspot in the Himalayan region.

"We won't just reach those people who carried out the attack. We will also reach out to those who planned this from behind the scenes on our land."

Singh did not identify those who India believes are responsible for the killings, but said that "India's government will take every step that may be necessary and appropriate".

No group has claimed responsibility but some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting for independence. Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.

The region is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in the Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Pakistan's foreign ministry on Wednesday offered its "condolences to the near ones of the deceased".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a statement shortly after the attack, pledged that those responsible for the "heinous act" will "be brought to justice".

Modi is set to hold an emergency cabinet meeting with top security chiefs later on Wednesday.