5 soldiers killed in Kathua attack from Uttarakhand, CM pays tributes

The five Army personnel killed in a terrorist attack on a patrolling party in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir hailed from Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday, asserting that their sacrifice will not go in vain.

"Five brave soldiers of Uttarakhand attained martyrdom during the cowardly terrorist attack in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. This is a moment of great pain for all of us," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement.

"Our bravehearts made the supreme sacrifice for their motherland in keeping with the rich military tradition of Uttarakhand," he said, adding their "sacrifice will not go in vain.

Terrorists, who are the enemies of humanity and guilty of this cowardly attack, will not be spared at any cost, he said, adding the people who sheltered them will also have to face the consequences.

He said the entire state stands with their families in this hour of grief.

The chief minister also paid his tribute to those killed through separate posts on X.

The martyred army personnel are Rifleman Anuj Negi from Pauri, Nayab Subedar Anand Singh Rawat from Rudraprayag, Naik Vinod Singh from Tehri, Kamal Singh from Pauri and Adarsh Negi from Tehri.

The attack took place on Monday when a group of heavily-armed terrorists ambushed a patrolling party in Badnota area in Kathua. A massive search operation is underway to nab the terrorists behind the ambush in which five people were also injured.