Gulmarg terror attack: Two soldiers succumb to injuries, toll rises to four

SRINAGAR: Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.

Two Army porters died on Thursday while another porter and a soldier were injured.

Terrorists attacked a vehicle of the force six kilometres from tourist hotspot Gulmarg in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said on Thursday.

They had said the terrorists opened fire on the Army vehicle in the Bota Pathri area in the evening when it was headed for the Nagin post in the Afrawat range.

Confirming the deaths of the two porters, the officials had said the condition of two of the injured soldiers was critical.

They had said the soldiers in the vehicle opened retaliatory fire when they came under attack.

The area is completely dominated by the Army and there were reports recently that a terrorist group had infiltrated during early summer and taken shelter in the higher reaches of the Afrawat range, they said.

The Bota Pathri area was recently opened to tourists.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the recent spate of attacks in the Valley was a matter of serious concern.

"Very unfortunate news about the attack on the Army vehicles in the Bota Pathri area of north Kashmir, which has resulted in some casualties and injuries. This recent spate of attacks in Kashmir is a matter of serious concern," he said in a post on X.

"I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and send my condolences to the loved ones of the people who lost their lives. I also pray that the injured make a complete and swift recovery," he added.

Former chief minister and People's Democratic Party supremo Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the attack.

The BJP's Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina, meanwhile, condemned the attack and blamed Pakistan for trying to destabilise peace and tranquillity in the Union Territory.

The attack came amid a spike in terror incidents in the Valley.

In another deadly attack on Sunday, six non-local labourers and a local doctor were killed when terrorists fired indiscriminately upon them at the Z-Morh tunnel construction site in the Gagangir area of central Kashmir's Ganderbal district.

Before that, a labourer from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian district on October 18.

Earlier on Thursday, terrorists shot at and injured a labourer from Uttar Pradesh in the Tral area of Pulwama district.