A suspected rebel has been killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Indian-administered Kashmir, the army said, days after rebels killed two members of a government-backed militia.
“One terrorist has been neutralised by the security forces [in Zabarwan forest near Srinagar city],” the Indian army’s Chinar Corps said on Sunday.
Security forces were engaged in two separate gun battles – one in the Chaas area of Kishtwar district in the southern Jammu region and the other one in Baramulla district north of Srinagar, the capital of the disputed Kashmir region, according to Indian media reports.
The gun battles come days after rebels killed two members of a government-run militia, called the Village Defense Group, in Kishtwar on Thursday. The Kashmir Tigers armed group claimed responsibility for the killings in a statement on social media.
Separatists have been demanding either independence or to merge with Pakistan. Many Muslim Kashmiris also support the goals of the rebels. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed as India deployed more than 500,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion.
New Delhi has often blamed Pakistan for supplying the rebels with weapons and helping them launch attacks, which Islamabad denies.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety but govern only part of it. They have fought two wars over the Himalayan territory, which has witnessed decades-long armed rebellion against Indian rule.
Since October, rebel groups and Indian forces have exchanged fire, including an attack on an army convoy and firing on a construction camp, in which seven people were killed.
Last week, a rebel hurled a grenade at a busy market in the central city of Srinagar, wounding 12 people.
Credit: aljazeera.com
