Kolkata:A widow of one of the jawans set herself a blaze, when she heard the news of her husband being  killed in a militant attack in Srinagar.

The 25-year-old Piu Nandy, wife of Aditya Nandy, set herself on fire in Bankura district of West Bengal. Her body has been sent for post mortem.

Eight soldiers were killed and six others injured in the rebel attack in the state, just one day before the arrival of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The ambush was carried out on the Army convoy at Hyderpora bypass on the Airport-Lal Chowk road, outside a private hospital with the terrorists firing from both sides of the road.

Militant group Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the ambush and warned of more such attacks.

During his speech in Srinagar a day after the attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the incident “most unfortunate”.

However, he hastened to add that “this should not frighten leaders or our opponents to conclude that we will succumb to terrorists efforts to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir, destabilise our economy.

“I can only say that this is most reprehensible and cowardly act on the part of the terrorists.”