News / India

India kills 3 suspected militants in Kashmir

Sunday, 21 August 2016 2:35 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 21 August 2016 2:35 PM ]

File photo shows Indian paramilitary trooper deployed during a curfew in the volatile Kashmir region. (AFP photo)

The Indian army has announced that its forces have killed three suspected members of a militant group, who allegedly crossed into the volatile Kashmir region from Pakistani territory.

Lieutenant Colonel Manish Kumar said Sunday that the militants were killed in the Tangdhar sector of Kupwara district, north of the main city of Srinagar, adding that three rifles and military supplies had been recovered from the scene.

"Three terrorists were killed in the fight. Three assault rifles were also recovered from the site of the gun battle,” an army spokesman said, adding that the militants had crossed from the Pakistani side of the heavily militarized border that divides the disputed area between the two countries.

There was no immediate report on whether the operation was linked to an attack two days earlier on an Indian border post in Kashmir. Three Indian soldiers were injured in that attack.

The deaths came amid a surge in violence involving Indian government forces and people in Kashmir. Clashes began on July 8 after Indian forces killed a popular field commander of a militant outfit. At least 65 people have been killed in the ensuing clashes while 6,000 have also been wounded. This is the worst spate of violence hitting the Himalayan region since 2010.

India claims it has killed 103 militants in the restive Kashmir valley so far this year, saying 56 militants have crossed from Pakistan into Kashmir until the end of July.

New Delhi also accuses Pakistan of having a major hand in the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, saying Islamabad supports cross-border terrorist acts in the region. Pakistan denies any involvement, saying it only provides moral and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri struggle for right to self-determination.

Since India and Pakistan won independence from British rule in 1947, the arch-rivals have been claiming Kashmir in full but have had only partial control over it. Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir since early 1990s.

There are an estimated 500,000 Indian troops currently deployed in the region. India has imposed a curfew across large parts of the territory since July.

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