8 jawans were killed last evening, when militants opened fire on an Army convoy on the outskirts of Srinagar City in the Kashmir valley. Militants ambushed the convoy at Hyderpora bypass on the Airport-Lal Chowk road. Police sources said that the militants, believed to be two in number, opened indiscriminate firing on the convoy and fled the scene after the army retaliated. The attack is believed to have been carried out by Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit .

The Prime Minister has condemned the attack, saying that such cowardly acts would not deter efforts of the security forces to bring about peace in the state. Dr. Manmohan Singh has also extended condolences to the families of the army personnel who laid down their lives in the attack.

State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, such attacks will not shatter the morale of the security forces, which have had great success in the past against the militant group.

Our Srinagar correspondent reports the security in the state has been stepped up in view of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's 2-day visit to the state beginning today. During the visit, Dr. Singh is likely to announce a package for the border districts. The Prime Minister and the UPA Chairperson will also launch a train service between Qazigund in Kashmir and Banihal in the Jammu region. This will provide an all-weather link to the Kashmir valley which often gets cut off in the winter season due to heavy snowfall.

During his stay in Srinagar, Dr. Singh will take stock of the implementation of the 37,000-crore rupees reconstruction package initiated in 2004 under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan. More from our correspondent,