The Jammu and Kashmir Police has said that the explosion at Rajouri district on Monday had been planned by suspected militants to target senior officers, reported PTI.

Two children had died after an Improvised Explosive Device, or IED, exploded inside a house in Upper Dangri village of Rajouri. The explosion took place hours after four civilians were killed and six injured on Sunday evening in a gun attack by suspected militants.

After the explosion on Monday, security forces also defused another IED which they found in the area.

“The IED blast was a planned attack aimed at targeting senior officers [who were to reach the site],” Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said on Monday, reported PTI. “The officers reached the spot late. The incident had happened already.”

Singh also said that the village defence committees in the region will be provided with arms again to defend themselves, reported PTI. Villagers have said that the attack could have been averted had they been provided with weapons, reported the news agency.

The village defence committees were first formed in 1995 in ten districts of the Jammu region to fight militants, reported The Hindu. However, most of the village defence committees were disbanded by previous governments following allegations of misuse of weapons in several cases.

Meanwhile, massive protests erupted in Rajouri on Monday following the back to back attacks in the district, reported NDTV. The protestors are critical of the government for its failure to protect lives of the citizens in the region.