NEW DELHI: At least 12 Indian soldiers were killed on Thursday in thedeadliest attack on government forces in Indian occupied Kashmir in morethan two years.
They died when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off as a convoy ofmilitary vehicles drove on a highway some 20 kilometres from Srinagar.
“An IED went off as a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) convoy passedby,” senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said. “We have 12 CRPFfatalities. We are evacuating the injured from the site and don’t havetheir number at the moment.”
*The Press Trust of India (PTI)* news agency put the death toll at 18.
Unconfirmed photos showed the charred remains of at least one vehiclelittered across the highway, alongside blue military buses.
It is the deadliest attack on the Indian occupying forces in the heldterritory since September 2016 when 19 soldiers were killed in a pre-dawnraid on the Uri army camp.
India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers in occupied Kashmir. – APP/AFP