Defence sources today said the Pakistani soldiers intruded into the Indian territory past midnight and ambushed the Sarla post on the Indian side of the LoC. Five Indian soldiers were killed, the sources said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, "(I) was briefed early this morning about the news that five of our soldiers had been killed on the LoC. My heartfelt condolences to their next of kin.

"These incidents don't help efforts to normalise or even improve relations with Pak and call in to question the Pak Govt's recent overtures," he said.

Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh is taking stock of the situation, Army sources said in Delhi. The incident could cast a shadow on the resumption of the Indo-Pak dialogue process expected later this month.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are slated to meet in New York next month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.