Jammu, Jan 14 (IANS): Six soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion near the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K’s Rajouri district on Tuesday, officials said.

The explosion occurred in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri.

"The incident occurred around 10.45 a.m. when a soldier patrolling in the Nowshera sector of the LoC accidentally stepped on a landmine that went off injuring six soldiers. All the injured army soldiers have been shifted to hospital where attending doctors have described their condition as stable," an official said.

Areas close to the LoC on the Indian side are secured by planting landmines so that infiltration and terrorist activity on the Indian side of the LoC is prevented.

"Some of the landmines planted near the LoC on our side get shifted from their original place due to rain etc from the place where they are marked on the patrolling map. Tragedies like today are caused by these landmines called drift mines," a senior army officer said.

The army and other security forces have been carrying out aggressive anti-terrorist operations targeting terrorists, their over-ground workers (OGWs), and sympathisers.

These aggressive operations against terrorists were ordered by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha after the terrorists carried out some dastardly attacks during the last four months against the army, security forces, police and civilians. These attacks were carried out by the terrorists after peaceful and people-participative Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, witnessed by diplomats from several countries, in J&K and intelligence agencies suggest that the handlers of terrorism sitting across the LoC got frustrated by these developments.

These handles of terrorism, as per the intelligence agencies, have ordered terrorists to carry out attacks to terrorise and keep the pot boiling despite prevailing peace in J&K.