Four killed in Indian Kashmir gun battle

Four killed in Indian Kashmir gun battle

February 15, 2017
Indian paramilitary soldiers travel in a vehicle after a gun battle in Hajin, some 38 km northeast of Srinagar, India, on Tuesday. — AFP
Indian paramilitary soldiers travel in a vehicle after a gun battle in Hajin, some 38 km northeast of Srinagar, India, on Tuesday. — AFP

Srinagar, India — Three soldiers and a suspected militant were killed in a gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday after an army patrol came under fire in the north of the territory, officials said.


“Three soldiers were killed during a gunfight with militants that broke out at Hajin in Bandipora district,” army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said, adding that five other soldiers were injured.


A police official said a civilian also sustained injuries in the cross-firing which erupted after the government forces cordoned off an area following a tip-off about the presence of militants.


“A search party was suddenly fired upon by the militants as it zeroed in on a residential area,” a police superintendent said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the press.


He added that nine soldiers were injured in the initial attack and were immediately shifted to army hospital.


“Three among them later succumbed to their injuries,” he added.


One militant, whose identity was not yet known, was also killed in the operation, he added.


Tuesday’s deadly violence came days after four militants, two soldiers and two civilians were killed in a flare-up in southern Kashmir.


Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they won independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.


An armed rebellion that started in the region in 1989 has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.


February 15, 2017
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