By Shazia Yousuf
SRINAGAR, Indian held Kashmir
At least three suspected militants have been killed in an alleged gunbattle with the Indian army in Keran sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in northern Indian held Kashmir, the Indian army said Sunday.
The LoC divides the disputed region of Kashmir between Pakistani and Indian control.
Indian Army spokesman Lt. Col. NN Joshi claimed the three 'militants' were killed when the army allegedly thwarted an attempt to infiltrate the LoC during the night between Saturday and Sunday.
The killings came just two days after the prime minsiters of India and Pakistan held talks in Russia on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Earlier this month, the Indian army said that two gunmen and a soldier were killed in the Uri sector of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district in a similar alleged gunfight.
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 of which were fought over Kashmir.
Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in Indian held Kashmir 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 Indian held Kashmir. A part of Kashmir is also held by China.
