An attack on tourists in India's Himalayan territory of Kashmir this week sparked a new crisis between nuclear armed South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan, with New Delhi blaming militants with "cross-border linkages" for the killings.

The United States has said it stands with India and strongly condemns all acts of terrorism, calling for perpetrators of the "heinous" Pahalgam terror attack to be brought to justice.

The nuclear-armed rivals, which both claim Kashmir and administer separate parts of it, are at a dangerous crossroad after Tuesday’s militant attack, analysts said.