Five soldiers killed, five injured as terrorists attack Indian Army convoy in J&K’s Kathua

Five soldiers of the Indian Army were killed and five others were injured on Monday (July 8) afterterrorists ambushed their vehicle in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, the news agency PTI reported citing officials.

The terrorists hurled agrenade and opened fire targeting army vehicles which were on a routine patrol on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar road at around 3.30 pm IST near Badnota village in Lohai Malhar.

Security forces retaliate

PTI reported that following the ambush, security forcesretaliatedbut the terrorists fled into the nearby forest. Officials saidan intermittent exchange of firing was going on between the terrorists and security forces when the last reports were received.

They addedreinforcements had been rushed to the area to neutralise the terrorists, who were believed to have recently infiltrated from across the border and were moving to the higher reaches.

Who is behind the attack?

Terrorist outfit Kashmir Tigers claimedresponsibility for Monday's ambush. It said that its cadres used M4 assault rifles, grenades and other weapons.

The outfitvowed to conduct more such attacks in the coming days.

Second incident in Kathua in less than a month

This was the second major incident in Kathua district in the last four weeks.

On June 12 and 13, two terrorists and a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel were killed in a fierce gunfight during a search and cordon operation.

Jammu has witnessed a spurt in terror activities, attributed by authorities to an attempt by Pakistani handlers to revive terrorism in the region and disturb the peaceful atmosphere.

(With inputs from agencies)