ALBAWABA - An attack on an Indian Army convoy in the Himalayan province of Jammu and Kashmir killed at least five troops, India's defense minister said on Tuesday, the latest in a string of strikes that has roiled the area.
The attack took place in the Kathua area when the military was conducting normal patrols, according to a police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with reporters.
Police and army reinforcements were dispatched to the scene, a big perimeter was established, and a search operation was underway, according to the officer.
The strikes were the latest in a wave of violence that began on Sunday when police claimed two gunfights killed two Indian army personnel and six suspected militants in the Kulgam area. Earlier in the day, terrorists opened fire on an army base in the Rajouri area, hurting one soldier.
Several attacks were reported in the last 24 hours leading to the killing of 12 people, 6 soldiers and 6 militants, officials stated.
On Monday, police stated four troops were killed and six were injured after suspected militants attacked an Indian army truck with a grenade and gunfire in the rural Machedi region of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.
"Security forces retaliated, but the militants fled into the nearby forest," the police said in a statement, adding that more police and paramilitary soldiers had been sent to apprehend the militants.
