Militant, woman killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir firing

A militant and a woman were killed, while as two other civilians wounded Monday in an exchange of fire between the militant and Indian paramilitary troopers in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The firing broke out in Kud area of Udhampur district, about 190 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"This evening a joint contingent of police and Central Reserve Police Force stopped a passenger bus at Kud at a checkpoint. No sooner the personnel entered the bus, a militant opened fire on them, which was duly retaliated, resulting in killing of the militant," a police official told Xinhua. "In the crossfire, a woman passenger was killed and two other fellow travellers were wounded."

The wounded passengers were immediately hospitalized.

Police officials said the militant was travelling in the Jammu bound bus carrying weapons. The officials claimed recovery of an assault rifle, a pistol and some ammunition from the bus.

The government forces have not suffered any damage in the firing.

On Sunday evening, militants attacked a police vehicle wounding four policemen, two of them critically, near Qazigund town on Srinagar-Jammu highway.

A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989. However, of late Indian policemen too have been trained to fight them.

Burhan Wani, a local commander of region's indigenous militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, has in a video message warned of intensifying attacks on policemen.

Gunfights between the militants and Indian troops takes place intermittently across the region.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Endit