2 Indian military troopers, 2 militants killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight
Xinhua, September 11, 2015 Adjust font size:
Two Indian military troopers and two militants were killed Friday in an ongoing fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.
The gunfight broke out at Laribal-Zachaldara near Handwara in frontier Kupwara district, about 95 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"So far two militants have been killed in the gunfight at Laribal in Handwara today," Col N N Joshi, Indian military spokesman told Xinhua, adding two troopers have also been killed while fighting the militants.
The gunfight triggered in the forest area Thursday evening and was going on until last reports came in.
Military and police officials said they launched the search operation on specific intelligence inputs about presence of militants in the area, following which the gunfight broke out.
A police official posted in Kupwara said the slain militants are believed to be non-locals.
Reports said military has pressed helicopters into service to trace the militants in the forest area.
"A search operation is going on in the area," Joshi said.
Earlier this month, four militants and an Indian military trooper were killed in a similar gunfight in Handwara.
A guerrilla war has been going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. Gunfights between the two sides takes place intermittently across the region.
The deadly gunfight has come at a time when three-day director general-level talks between the two countries are under way in the Indian capital city of New Delhi. Endi