Suspected insurgents fighting Indian rule in the disputed area ambushed military vehicles in the southern area of Raguri.
Five soldiers were killed when suspected insurgents opened fire and threw explosives on an army truck in the disputed Indian-administered Kashmir region, India’s military said.
The military said the vehicle “probably used a hand grenade” that caught fire and was thrown by unidentified assailants on Thursday in the southern region of Raguri, close to the highly militarized Line of Control between India and Pakistan that divides the Himalayan region.
“Tragically, five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifle Unit deployed in the area for counter-terrorism operations were killed in the incident,” Army Northern Command said in a statement.
Another soldier was seriously injured and taken to a military hospital for treatment, the statement said.
Video from the scene showed a military vehicle engulfed in flames on a highway in the mountains.
Security forces are searching the area for the attackers. “Operations are underway to locate the perpetrators,” the military said.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh was informed of the attack by Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Defense Ministry sources said.
Kashmir is fully sovereign but partially ruled by nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.
Since 1989, rebels in Indian-controlled areas have clashed with some half a million Indian soldiers deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir, demanding independence or integration with Pakistan.
Anger over New Delhi’s rule has intensified since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked partial autonomy from India’s only Muslim-majority region.
Last August, suspected insurgents attacked an Indian army post in Raguri, killing three soldiers. Two attackers were also killed in the shootout.
New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of fomenting an insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it is merely providing diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.
Tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels have been killed in the conflict so far.
