Srinagar, August 1:

A militant in Jammu and Kashmir shot dead five horses carrying supplies for troops in the first recorded attack of its kind, police said today. The militants have never been known to target horses used by the army in the 16 years since the insurgency against New Delhi’s rule erupted in 1989, police said in a statement. The horses were ferrying rations and clothing to an army camp when they were killed late yesterday, police said. The attack took place in Arigam village, 60 km north of Srinagar. “A solo militant killed five horses from point-blank range and beat up two locals who were leading the horses,” army spokesman Vijay Batra told AFP. Indian army and paramilitary troops hire hundreds of local residents as porters and use their horses for carrying supplies to remote security camps that are hard to reach by vehicle.