6 killed in clashes in disputed Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

Four pro-independence militants and two Indian army soldiers were killed in a gun battle on Sunday morning in the Frisal area in the Kulgam district, around 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the capital city Srinagar, in disputed Jammu and Kashmir.

According to an Indian police senior official in Kashmir, three militants fled from the clashes while three Indian soldiers were wounded.

"We had prior information about the presence of militants in the exact place and a joint team [comprised] of police and army cordoned it off in the morning starting off the gunbattle. Our forces are still looking for the militants who escaped," police spokesman Manoj Pandita told Anadolu Agency.

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

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

More than 70,000 Kashmiris have been killed so far in the violence, most of them by Indian forces. India maintains over half a million soldiers in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir.

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

According to an Indian police senior official in Kashmir, three militants fled from the clashes while three Indian soldiers were wounded.

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

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

More than 70,000 Kashmiris have been killed so far in the violence, most of them by Indian forces. India maintains over half a million soldiers in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir.