Five Indian soldiers killed in ambush in Kashmir

According to official reports, five soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected insurgents in the Kathua district of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to initial reports, the soldiers in the military vehicles came under fire from militants hiding on a nearby hill.

Officials said reinforcements arrived quickly and a manhunt was launched to track down the attackers.

There has been an armed insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989, but the violence has subsided in recent years.

The attack on Monday afternoon in Jammu marks a month of increasing violence in the region.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed his “deep shock” at the number of people who lost their lives in the latest attack.

“My deepest condolences to the grieving families, the nation stands with them at this difficult time,” Mr Singh wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Anti-terrorist operations are underway and our soldiers are determined to restore peace and order in the region,” he said.

According to reports, the militants – their exact number is unknown – launched an attack in an area flanked by a hill on one side and a steep slope on the other. They descended the slope and attacked, in particular, a truck.

Officials said five soldiers were also injured in the attack.

Since June, seven attacks have been reported from the relatively peaceful Jammu region.

The latest attack is the second major incident in Kathua district within a month and the second attack on the army in Jammu within two days.

On June 11, a soldier and two suspected militants were killed in a gunfight in Kathua. On Sunday, another soldier was injured in an attack on an army camp in Rajouri district of Jammu.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a source of conflict between India and Pakistan for decades.

Since 1947, the nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two wars over the predominantly Muslim territory, which both countries claim entirely but only partially control.

Since 1989, an armed insurgency against Delhi’s rule in Indian-administered Kashmir has claimed thousands of lives.

Delhi accuses Islamabad of harboring militants and disturbing peace in the region. Pakistan denies this accusation.