Three militants and two civilians killed as violence spreads in Kashmir
Indian security forces killed three separatists, while militants shot two people dead, in one of the bloodiest days in Kashmir since New Delhi revoked the disputed region’s autonomy in August.
Wednesday’s killings were the first since mobile phone services were restored as part of a gradual relaxation of measures taken to curb violent unrest in Jammu and Kashmir state.
India had cut off telephone and internet access before it revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, removing long-standing rights for the Muslim-majority region.
A security lockdown is still in place and broadband and mobile internet connections remain unavailable to many Kashmiris.
The three militants were killed in a gun battle when soldiers, acting on a tip-off, raided a village in south Kashmir, two police sources told Reuters.
“Three terrorists were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter,” Kashmir police said. “Arms and ammunition were recovered.”
Neither the soldiers nor police suffered casualties, according to police sources, who spoke anonymously.
The security forces imposed travel restrictions near the site of the firefight to prevent unrest, the sources said. Many Kashmiris hostile to India’s rule often gather to throw stones at the security forces after militants are killed.
In a separate incident in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, suspected militants shot dead a migrant worker from Chhattisgarh state, in central India, in an execution-style killing, police said.
The brick kiln labourer was walking along a railway track in the Kakapora area when he was stopped by two people. “He was shot in the head,” a police official said.
In another incident, a fruit merchant was killed and another critically wounded when gunmen fired at them in the Shopian district of south Kashmir.