A group of four or five terrorists are holed up in an abandoned army bunker in Arnia, Jammu
A group of four or five terrorists are holed up in an abandoned army bunker near the border with Pakistan and are exchanging fire with the Army. Nine people - three terrorists, three civilians, and three army soldiers have died since the militants attacked this morning at 8 am.
Eight terrorists reportedly crossed from Pakistan this morning into India near Arnia in the Jammu region, just four kms from the border.
It's not clear if they shot at an army column on patrol before taking refuge in the bunker.
Senior army sources said that ceasefire violations by Pakistan at the border this morning may have served as cover for the militants to cross over. However, the Border Security Force denied this.
The civilians who died were reportedly in a car that was targeted by the militants.
The attack began at 8 am this morning; fighting between the militants and the Army was continuing several hours. "They are a group of four to six militants now firing from inside the bunker," local deputy inspector general of police Shakeel Beig told news agency AFP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Udhampur which is near Arnia on Friday to address rallies for the state election. Voting is being held over five days; the first phase - on Tuesday - saw a record voter turnout of nearly 72%.
This morning's attack comes as Prime Minister Modi and Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif are attending the SAARC summit in Kathmandu in Nepal. The meeting is aimed at boosting trade between almost a quarter of the world's people. But apart from pleasantries, the two leaders have not spoken - tension between the countries peaked last month with the exchange of the heaviest gunfire in a decade at the Kashmir border, killing more than 20 people.