2 more militants killed in Kashmir clashes

SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir

Two militants were killed on Friday morning by Indian forces in clashes near the capital of India-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

Three Indian soldiers were wounded in the Nowgam area on the outskirts of Srinagar in the third major gunfight in the Kashmir region in the last 24 hours, with six militants killed since Thursday.

Defense spokesman Rajesh Kalia confirmed the killing of the latest two militants to Anadolu Agency.

On Thursday, police confirmed the killing of four militants in two separate clashes, three of them in the Shopian area in southern Kashmir and one in the northern Kupwara district, all Kashmiri nationals.

Since a Feb. 14 bombing in which at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed, Indian forces have further intensified operations in the region.

Some 32 militants, 20 belonging to Jaish-e-Muhammad -- the militant outfit that accepted responsibility for the attack -- have since been killed in 14 separate clashes across the Kashmir valley.

Since the beginning of the year, the total combatant deaths amount to 61 militants and 57 Indian forces, including those killed in the bombing and at least eight Indian Army soldiers.

At least 12 civilians have been killed this year so far.

Jammu and 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 held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.