Indian police stand near the bodies of two Indian army soldiers lying inside a police vehicle near the scene of an attack by militants on the outskirts of Srinagar on June 24, 2013.
At least eight Indian soldiers have been killed and thirteen others wounded in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, police officials say.
Militants opened fire on a convoy transporting the soldiers on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday.
Å“Eight troopers died in the attack and 13 others have been wounded,” said a senior police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The injured soldiers were rushed to a nearby military hospital for medical treatment.
The militants were able to pull off the attack despite the fact that a high state of alert was imposed ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâ„¢s scheduled visit to Kashmir on Tuesday.
Singh issued a statement strongly condemning the attack, saying, Å“This cowardly attack will not deter the security forces, who are engaged in bringing peace and order to the Kashmir Valley.”
Security officials said police and parliamentary forces were deployed across the territory.
“A high alert is there. We do face a threat from the militants,” Kashmir Police Chief Abdul Gani Mir said.
On Saturday, two Indian policemen patrolling Srinagarâ„¢s Hari Singh High Street market were shot and killed by militants.
Kashmir lies at the heart of more than 60 years of hostility between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim the region in full but each only has control over a section of the territory.
Over the past two decades, the conflict in Kashmir has left over 47,000 people dead by the official count, although other sources say the death toll could be as high as 90,000.
SAB/SS/MAM/HGL
This article originally appeared on: Press TV