23 December 2017•Update: 23 December 2017
By Zahid Rafiq
SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir
An army major was among four Indian soldiers killed in a cross-border shooting along the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between Pakistan and India, an official said.
In a statement, the Indian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Col. N.N. Joshi said the incident took place the Keri sector of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.
"They [four slain Indian soldiers] were grievously hurt during the firing from Pakistani troops and later succumbed to their injuries," Joshi said.
Two soldiers were also wounded and are receiving medical treatment, he said, adding the Indian army had retaliated to the firing “strongly and effectively”.
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.
Also in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.
Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu 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.
