News / India

Militant commander, two aides shot dead in disputed Kashmir

Sunday, 31 January 2016 9:36 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 31 January 2016 11:17 AM ]

Indian soldiers stand near the site of a gun battle with militants in the Tanghdar sector, north of Kashmir's Kupwara district, on November 25, 2015. ©AFP

Indian security forces have shot dead a commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group and two of his associates during an exchange of gunfire in the Indian-administered Kashmir region.

Colonel N N Joshi, an Indian army spokesman in Kashmir, said government forces launched an operation in Kupwara district, situated about 110 kilometers (68 miles) northwest of Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar, after a tip-off that the pro-Taliban militants were present in the area.

He added that the militant commander was fatally shot during a standoff, while his two aides managed to break through the police cordon, and hole up at a house. They were later killed during a fierce exchange of gunfire.

There was no independent confirmation or comments from LeT.

Kashmiri protesters shout slogans as an Indian police official walks towards them during a demonstration in Srinagar on January 3, 2016. ©AFP

Pakistan and India have been engaged in hostility over Kashmir ever since their independence from British colonial rule and their partition in 1947.

The two neighbors have fought two wars over the mountainous region as the archrivals both lay claim to the entire territory. Each controls parts of it, though. Pakistan controls one-third of Kashmir, with the remaining two-thirds being under India’s control.

Islamabad and New Delhi agreed on a ceasefire in 2003, and launched a peace process the following year. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes, with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.

Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir over the past two decades.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk