A soldier was killed and four others were injured when militants attacked an Indian Air Force convoy in the Surankote area of Poonch district in Jammu on Saturday evening, triggering concern amid peak electioneering in the area.

The injured, one of whom is critical, have been admitted to the Northern Command Hospital in Udhampur.

“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 posted on X.

The Jammu region has seen multiple militant attacks this year but Saturday evening's appeared the biggest.

A police officer said the militants had attacked two vehicles from the convoy near Shahsitar as the motorcade headed to Sanai Top in the Surankote area around 6.15pm. The area is home to an IAF facility.

The police said that local Rashtriya Rifles units had started cordon-and-search operations to hunt down the militants involved.

“The vehicles have been secured inside the airbase in the general area near Shahsitar,” an official said.

Jammu and Kashmir leaders, including Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, recently visited the region as part of their election campaign.

The Anantnag parliamentary constituency, of which Poonch-Rajouri is a part, was scheduled to go to the polls on May 7. But the election was postponed to May 25 following pleas from the BJP and some friendly parties.

In the Dooru area of south Kashmir, a soldier lost his life and eight others were injured after their vehicle met with an accident on Saturday.

The police denied a militant attack, as claimed on some social media platforms.

“Some media platforms have circulated news that terrorists have attacked an army vehicle at Batagund top, Dooru, which is totally baseless,” the police said in a statement.

“The vehicle carrying army personnel lost control and skidded off the road resulting in injuries to them including the unfortunate death of one army personnel.”