1 soldier killed in attack in Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Indian held Kashmir

One Indian soldier was killed Sunday and another injured when suspected militants attacked an Indian army camp in the Baramulla area in the north of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK).

Forty-six Rashtriya Rifles – a counter-insurgency unit in the IHK – were attacked at approximately 10.30 p.m. when the suspected militants fired grenades and bullets, a police source spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Police sources said the slain soldier was a paramilitary member stationed at the unit.

The attack on the Baramulla camp came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan as war clouds gather over the region.

India claimed Thursday that it had carried out “surgical strikes” along the Line of Control in the Pakistani side of Kashmir and destroyed “launching pads for terrorists” and “killed several terrorists”.

Pakistan, however, vehemently denied any such attack.

The Indian strikes were in response to suspected attacks by militants in Uri on Sept. 18 in which 19 Indian Army personnel were killed. While India blamed Pakistan for the Uri attack, Pakistan denied any involvement and instead accused India of trying to distract attention from a three-month long uprising for independence in Indian-held Kashmir.

At least 88 civilians have been killed and more than 10,000 wounded, according to figures by the health department in the IHK, in a crackdown by Indian forces to quell the current uprising that began with the killing of a popular militant commander by the Indian forces on July 8.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full.

The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947. Two wars have been over Kashmir.

Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in the IHK have fought against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 victims have been so far reportedly killed in the conflict, most by the Indian armed forces. India maintains more than 500,000 troops in the disputed regions.

A Pentagon spokesman on Monday encouraged both sides to return to dialogue.

As the escalation comes amid U.S. government efforts to rebalance the Asia-Pacific region against a rising China, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said the Defense Department is monitoring the situation.

“Obviously we are concerned any time we see two of what we consider to be our friends exchanging shots with each other,” Davis said.