Five Indian soldiers killed in ambush by suspected rebels in Kashmir

Attack on a military patrol is latest in a flurry of violence that erupted on Sunday

Activists from right-wing Hindu groups react to Monday’s killing of five Indian soldiers in Kashmir by burning an effigy of the Pakistan PM (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Suspected rebels fighting against Indian rule in the disputed region of Kashmir ambushed an army vehicle on Monday in the region's south, killing five Indian soldiers and wounding other five, officials said.

No insurgent group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack took place in the Kathua district of the Indian-controlled Kashmir while the military was on a routine patrol, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Police and army reinforcements were rushed to the area, a massive cordon was set up and a search operation was underway, the officer said.

The attack was the latest in a flurry of violence that erupted on Sunday, when police said two gunbattles killed two Indian army soldiers and six suspected militants in the Kulgam district. Earlier in the day, militants fired at an army camp in the district of Rajouri, wounding a soldier.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947 but coveted in its entirety by both. The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars over Kashmir.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents to fight its forces for control of Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies.

Various rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir’s independence from India or seeking to merge it with Pakistan, which most Muslim Kashmiri residents in the Indian-controlled sector support. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.