One soldier was killed and four others were injured after an Indian Air Force vehicle came under heavy fire by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Saturday evening.
The firing was reported from Sanai village of Surankote when the vehicle was moving towards nearby Sanai Top.
Reinforcements from Army and police have been rushed to the area and a massive search and cordon operation has been launched to track down and neutralise the terrorists.
Officials said the injured soldiers were evacuated to hospital, where one of the two critically injured personnel succumbed to injuries.
"An Indian Air Force vehicle convoy was attacked by militants in the Poonch district of J-K, near Shahsitar. Cordon and search operations are underway presently in the area by local military units. The convoy has been secured, and further investigation is under progress," the IAF said in a post on X.
Poonch is part of Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the sixth phase on May 25.
Teh Poonch-Rajouri region was once cleared of terrorism and remained peaceful between 2003 and 2021. However, the two districts have witnessed some of the major terrorist attacks over the past two years, signalling return of terror activities.
Four soldiers had died when their vehicle was ambushed by terrorists in Bufliaz on December 21 last year. Officials suspect the involvement of the same group of terrorists in Saturday's attack, too.
Police and paramilitary forces have been carrying out searches in Poonch town since Friday following inputs about movement of suspected persons.