3 civilians killed after militants raid GREF camp in Jammu

3 civilians employed as labourers with the General Reserve Engineer Force were killed in a pre-dawn attack Akhnoor sector in Jammu on Monday.

The GREF is the parent cadre force of the Border Roads Organisation BRO that builds and maintains border roads in the country.

Attackers launched an assault on the camp in in Battal village around 1am in Jourian area, 55km from Jammu, near the border with Pakistan.

Crowds cordoned off the camp and launched an operation against the gunmen after this year’s first attack in the Jammu region.

The militants likely penetrated from across the border to carry out the strike, sources said, adding that the attackers were yet to be traced. A high alert was sounded in Jammu district.

The militancy-hit state of Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened tensions in 2016.