An army doctor and a jawan were killed in an IED blast triggered by suspected National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants in Sonitpur district on Monday.

According to Defence sources, the explosion took place at Chariduar near Bhalukpung, about 3O km from here, at around 6.30 am when the two were accompanying an ambulance from Tezpur to Tenga in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.

The blast, triggered from a house, left the vehicle completely mangled and the bodies charred. A four-and-half-feet wide and one-and-half-feet deep crater was created due to the explosion.

The slain army officer was identified as Colonel S M Perumal, commanding officer of 405 field hospital of the army and the jawan as Naik Ashwini Kumar. Kumar was driving the vehicle, the sources said.

The house owner and another person was picked up by police for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the local Bodo people fled the area immediately after the blast, fearing harassment by the army, sources said.