Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Rebels kill 8 Indian soldiers ahead of Manmohan trip
SRINAGAR: Rebels killed eight soldiers in Indian-held Kashmir on Monday in the deadliest such attack in five years, marring a landmark visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Himalayan territory.
The military convoy was ambushed on the outskirts of Srinagar, as it headed towards a nearby base camp, officials said.
“Eight troopers died in the attack and 13 others have been wounded,” a senior police official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The condition of one of the injured was critical, he said.
The attack marked the deadliest single day for Indian security forces in Held Kashmir since July 2008 when a landmine killed nine soldiers on a bus on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Monday’s attack came amid a high state of alert which has been imposed ahead of Singh’s arrival on Tuesday for a two-day visit to the territory, his first since June 2010. Singh strongly condemned the attack in a statement issued in the capital New Delhi.
