NEW DELHI: Four army personnel were killed in a firing incident at a military station in the Indian border state of Punjab early on Wednesday, officials said, adding that a search for the shooters was in progress.

An unknown number of shooters were at large at the Bathinda military station and had ammunition on them, a defence source told Reuters, declining to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Major attacks on Indian military bases in the last few years:

Aug. 2022 - Militants attack an Indian army post in Rajouri in the disputed Kashmir region, killing three soldiers, while two attackers died in the shootout.

Feb. 2019 - A suicide bomber rammed a car into a bus carrying Indian paramilitary police, killing 44 of them in the deadliest attack in decades on security forces in the disputed region.

Nov. 2016 - Militants attacked an army base at Nagrota near Jammu city, killing seven security personnel and taking hostages in the military base.

Sept. 2016 - Four gunmen burst into a brigade headquarters in the town of Uri in the disputed Himalayan region, killing 18 Indian soldiers.

The incident was “not a terror attack”, and took place in a canteen, a senior police official in Punjab, S.P.S. Parmar told Reuters.

“Station quick-reaction teams were activated. Area was cordoned off and sealed,” the army said in a statement. “Search operations are in progress. Further details being ascertained.”

The incident took place at 4:35 a.m. (2305 GMT Tuesday), the statement said.

The military station, about 280 km (175 miles) northwest of New Delhi, houses mostly families of soldiers and is a residential army base.