Indian army hunts militants after five soldiers killed

New Delhi: Troops in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday hunted for gunmen who ambushed an army convoy a day earlier, with the defence minister raising the toll of soldiers killed to five.

Rajnath Singh said he was "deeply anguished" over the "loss of five of our brave Indian Army soldiers", who were attacked on Monday afternoon in the disputed territory.

"Counter-terrorist operations are underway," Singh added in a statement on social media platform X, condemning the "dastardly terror attack".

Monday's incident was the latest in an uptick of attacks in the region.

On Sunday, two soldiers and six suspected militants were killed in two separate gun battles in villages in the Kulgam district, police said.