KATHMANDU, Nov 30: A Gurkha soldier serving in the Indian Army was killed after militants attacked an army base near the Indian city of Jammu on Tuesday.

The deceased is Rifleman Asim Rai from Khotang, Indian media reported.

The gunmen raided the base just before dawn, firing at officers before entering the officers’ mess, where they took security men, women and children hostage for several hours, Jammu-based army spokesman Manish Mehta told Reuters.

Earlier this month, Rifleman Bimal Tamang, 20, of Dharan was killed in an alleged Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 32,000 Gurkhas currently provide military service to India.