On Monday, four army personnel were killed and six others injured when militants ambushed their vehicle in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials reported.
The attack occurred around 3:30 pm near Badnota village in Lohai Malhar, approximately 150 km from Kathua town. Militants hurled a grenade and opened fire on the Army vehicles, which were on a routine patrol on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar road.
Security forces retaliated but the militants fled into the nearby forest. According to officials, intermittent firing continued between the terrorists and security forces when the last reports were received. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to neutralize the terrorists, who are believed to have recently infiltrated from across the border and were moving to higher ground.
“Ten troopers were injured in total, and four of them later succumbed to their injuries,” an official confirmed.
This is the second major incident in Kathua district in the past four weeks. On June 12 and 13, two militants and a CRPF jawan were killed in a fierce gunfight during a search and cordon operation.
The attack comes within a fortnight of a gunfight between militants and security forces in the Gandoh area of Doda district, which resulted in the deaths of three foreign terrorists on June 26.
Jammu has seen a rise in militant activities, which authorities attribute to attempts by Pakistani handlers to revive militancy in the region and disrupt the peaceful atmosphere.
