Three Rebels Killed in Indian Kashmir Gunbattle
Three separatist rebels were killed Thursday in a gunbattle with government forces in disputed Indian Kashmir that also left two soldiers wounded, police said.
The gun battle started late afternoon after government forces laid siege to a house in Tral, 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of the main city of Srinagar, from where the hiding rebels tried to escape.
"The operation was launched on specific information. Preliminary identification of the three dead militants has been done," Inspector General Abdul Gani Mir told Agence France Presse.
"All three were Kashmiris," he said.
Another police official said two soldiers received "minor injuries" during the gunfight which last more than an hour.
The slain rebels belonged to Kashmir's largest local rebel group, Hizbul Mujahideen, which is among a dozen that has fought Indian forces since 1989 for independence or the aim of merging the territory with Pakistan.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan by a heavily militarized de facto border known as the Line of Control or LoC since 1947, when the two countries gained independence from Britain, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full.
The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, most of whom were civilians.
Violence has steadily abated in the last decade but occasional encounters between armed rebels and government forces happen regularly.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/135712 |