Security forces deploy drones, helicopters to scan nearby forest to hunt the suspects following the attack in Gulmarg.

At least four people, including two soldiers, were killed when armed men ambushed a military vehicle in Indian-administered Kashmir, officials said, the fourth attack in the disputed region in two weeks.

On Friday, the Indian Army confirmed the exchange of fire with “terrorists” late on Thursday in the vicinity of Gulmarg, near the heavily militarised frontier dividing Kashmir and Pakistan.

Two army porters were also killed in the attack in the Bota Pathri area, officials said, adding that three soldiers were injured.

“A massive search operation has been launched against the militants responsible for the attack … Additional reinforcements have been sent to the area,” an army official told the Reuters news agency.

Security forces were using drones and helicopters to scan the forest in the region where the incident occurred, a senior police officer said.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in its entirety, resulting in a drawn-out conflict that has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, civilians and fighters.

The authorities closed Gulmarg’s cable car – a popular tourist attraction about 12km (7 miles) from the area of the attack. About one million people use the cable car annually.

“The shutdown is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of tourists and staff,” a senior official was quoted by Reuters as saying.

On Monday, six migrant workers and a doctor were shot dead in an attack in Indian Kashmir when armed fighters opened fire near a tunnel construction site.

At least nine soldiers were also killed in two separate attacks in the region in July.

Condemning the latest assault, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the “recent spate of attacks” in the region as “a matter of serious concern”, in a post on social media platform X.

Rebels have been waging an armed rebellion for decades, demanding independence for Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

India has a permanent deployment of some 500,000 soldiers in the part of Kashmir it controls. It regularly blames Pakistan for supporting the rebels in launching attacks in Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies