Two suspected rebels killed in Kashmir clashes

India: Two suspected rebels were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir during a firefight, police said yesterday, the latest clash between militants and security forces in the disputed territory during ongoing national elections.

The gun battle erupted late Thursday in the northern town of Sopore when police and soldiers cordoned off an area after receiving a tipoff about the presence of armed militants.

A police officer told AFP that bodies of two militants had been at the site of the clash, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Two soldiers and a civilian also received bullet injuries, the officer added.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the highaltitude territory in full but administering separate portions of it.

Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

The conflict has left tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants dead.

Violence has dropped markedly since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and stepped up a security crackdown.

Thursday’s firefight came two days after soldiers clashed with an unknown number of suspected rebels in adjacent Bandipore forested area, police said.

Two soldiers were injured in that exchange, local media reported, with the militants likely escaping into the forests.

Earlier this month a local rebel was killed in a clash with soldiers in the southern Kashmir valley.

The latest clashes came during campaigning for India’s six-weeklong national election, which continues through to June.