Indian commando, three fighters killed in Kashmir

An Indian army commando and three independence fighters have been killed in separate gun fights across the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, police say.

Muneer Ahmed Khan, a senior police officer, said on Tuesday that fighting erupted in the northwestern area of Handwara after Indian troops launched a counterinsurgency operation and killed three fighters there. In another operation in the neighboring Kupwara area, a special forces soldier was killed in armed clashes.

According to the police official, government forces were battling a few militants trapped in the area.

The fierce clashes are the latest in a string of deadly shootouts between Indian forces and fighters seeking independence in Kashmir.

At least eight fighters, an Indian air force commando and a policeman have been killed in the past two days. So far this year, 70 government soldiers and 190 fighters have been killed in fighting.

The Muslim-majority region has witnessed an increase in mass protests and violence since early July 2016, when Burhan Wani, a top figure in a pro-independence group, was killed in a shootout with Indian troops. Over 100 protesters have also lost their lives and more than 12,000 have been injured in the ensuing crackdown.

New Delhi has deployed some 500,000 soldiers to the disputed region to confront pro-independence demonstrations in its part of Kashmir, where about 70,000 people have been killed since 1989.

India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in entirety and have fought three wars over the region. India accuses Pakistan of funding and training militants in Kashmir, a charge denied by Islamabad.

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