7 killed as bank van comes under attack in Kashmir
At least 7 people, including five policemen, have been killed in an attack on a bank van in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Kashmir’s director general of police, S. P. Vaid, said on Monday that suspected militants had attacked the van, which was carrying cash from a bank in the village of Pumbai in Kulgam district, around 70 kilometers south of the main city of Srinagar.
"All the seven in the van, five policemen and two bank employees, were killed,” Vaid said, adding that the attackers opened fire on the vehicle when it was returning from the bank.
Other police sources said the attackers had managed to take away cash and weapons from the police officers.
Indian authorities have reported several attacks on banks across the Kashmir valley over the past months. Suspected militants have been blamed for the attacks.
Police said last week that one such attack was foiled in the southern district of Anantnag, after an attacker was arrested and another escaped the scene.
Kashmir has seen a surge in armed attacks on Indian security forces since a militant commander was killed last year.
The fighting has revived anti-India sentiments in the Himalayan region, where the Muslim population mostly favors independence or a merge with Pakistan.
Both India and Pakistan have been claiming Kashmir since 1947, when the territory ceased to be a British colony.
Pakistan controls one-third of Kashmir, with the remaining two-thirds being under India’s control.
India accuses Pakistan of arming the militants in Kashmir and maintains that Islamabad sends fighters into the territory from across the border.
Pakistan denies the allegation, saying India must hold negotiations on the future of Kashmir.
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