Five police officers were killed when their vehicle was ripped apart by a remote-controlled bomb in Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday, a police official said.
The device was triggered as the police vehicle in the mountainous Kokarnag area, some 75 kilometers (48 miles) south of the summer capital Srinagar, said the official.
Two civilians were also injured in the attack, he said.
The attack comes just one day after the Indian government extended its unilateral ceasefire -- effectively a suspension of combat operations against Muslim militants in Kashmir -- until the end of May.
However the truce has been rejected by all the armed separatist groups involved in the 12-year anti-India rebellion in the region which has claimed more than 34,000 lives in the past 12 years.
Announcing the ceasefire extension Thursday, Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee warned militant groups that despite the truce the security forces would take tough action against any group, which continued with violence.
India first announced its ceasefire on November 27 for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the measure has now been extended three times.
Throughout the truce period militant groups have kept up a steady stream of high-profile attacks on the Indian security forces and police.
A suicide squad of militants attacked the main police control room in Srinagar on February 10, killing eight police officers. Two militants also died.
Kashmir is divided into Indian and Pakistani zones, and is claimed by both countries -- SRINAGAR, India (AFP)
