17 troops, 4 rebels die in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India: Suspected rebels using guns and grenades sneaked into a crucial army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir early yesterday and killed at least 17 soldiers in the deadliest attack on a military base in the disputed Himalayan region in recent years.

Four rebels were killed as the soldiers returned gunfire after the surprise assault before dawn on the base, located near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Loud explosions were heard and several barracks caught fire in the attack. Afterwards, military helicopters hovered over the base as the army conducted “mopping up” operations.

Officials said at least 30 soldiers were wounded in the attack, including about a dozen who were in a critical condition.

The casualties were high because a large number of soldiers were turning over the base to new units and were stationed in tents and temporary shelters that caught fire in the attack, the army said.

The base, in the town of Uri, west of the region’s main city of Srinagar, houses the Indian army’s regional brigade headquarters along the de facto border separating Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

Soldiers were conducting searches in the area, but army officials said it appeared they had killed all four rebels involved in the attack.

Army officials said the rebels had infiltrated into the Indian side of Kashmir from the Pakistani-controlled part.

The army’s Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh said all four gunmen killed were “foreign terrorists”. Investigations suggested that they belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed, militants based in Pakistan that has been active in Kashmir for 15 years. – AP