25 June 2017•Update: 26 June 2017
By Zahid Rafiq
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir
Two suspected militants were killed and three Indian soldiers were injured during an overnight clash at a school in Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, according to Indian army.
The gunbattle between soldiers and suspected militants began on Saturday following an attack on a vehicle of Indian paramilitary personnel in the evening that left an officer dead and wounded two others.
The militants had fled to a nearby school with 400 rooms following the attack and holed themselves up there.
An Indian army spokesman told Anadolu Agency that soldiers eventually made contact with militants inside the school at around 4 a.m. (2230GMT) on Sunday and the gunbattle continued till Sunday afternoon that left two militants dead and three Indian soldiers wounded.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.
Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan. More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.
