The gunfights broke out in frontier Kupwara district, about 110 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian- controlled Kashmir.
"A fierce gunfight is going on inside Hafruda forests of Handwara town and we have lost three troopers fighting militants there," Indian military spokesman Col. N N Joshi told Xinhua. "The gunfight is going on since last evening and further details are awaited."
According to Joshi, the number of militants fighting military inside the forest area was unknown.
Officials said the stand-off began Sunday evening after military launched searches in area on intelligence inputs suggesting presence of a group of militants.
Meanwhile, a militant was gunned down in Lolab area of the district this morning."Gunfight has ended there and we have recovered an assault rifle from the gunfight site," Joshi said. " We have not suffered any damage at Lolab."
On Sunday, two foreign militants were killed and a trooper wounded in a similar gunfight in the region.
A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in Indian- controlled Kashmir since 1989. Gunfights between the two sides take place intermittently across the region.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of sending armed militants to Indian-controlled Kashmir. However, Islamabad says it only provides moral and political support to Kashmiris.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full.
Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
5/12/15
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Police say four Indian army soldiers and three suspected rebels have been killed in separate gunbattles in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir...
ReplyDeleteInspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani says the soldiers died Monday after militants ambushed troops during a search operation in Hafruda forest near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Gillani said the militants managed to escape the area after attacking the soldiers.
He said three militants were killed in two separate encounters with government troops in the area Sunday and Monday.
Since 1989, rebels have fought against Indian rule. More than 68,000 people have died in the uprising and a subsequent Indian military crackdown.
AP
5/10/15