Jammu, December 22: Three men were found dead under suspicious circumstances on Friday near the site of an ambush by terrorists on two Army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district that left five soldiers dead and two injured the previous day, officials said. The deceased were among the eight people reportedly picked up by the Army for questioning in connection with Thursday's attack at Dhatyar Morh, between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz, under the jurisdiction of the Surankote police station, the officials said.

They said Safeer Hussain (43), Mohammad Showket (27) and Shabir Ahmad (32), all residents of Topa Peer village of Bufliaz, died under mysterious circumstances but the cause of their death was not known immediately. Jammu and Kashmir: Encounter Underway in Poonch After Terrorists Ambush Army Vehicle.

Poonch Deputy Commissioner Choudhary Mohammad Yasin and Senior Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar reached Bufliaz following the reports of the deaths of the three men while Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar is also heading for Surankote, the officials said. Jammu and Kashmir: Indian Army Soldier Dies While on Duty Near LoC in Poonch.

Three to four heavily-armed terrorists targeted a Maruti Gypsy and a truck of the Army late Thursday afternoon, killing the five soldiers and injuring two.

After the attack, the terrorists reportedly mutilated the bodies of at least two soldiers and took the weapons of some of them.