Asia

Asia

Fierce gunbattle in Indian Kashmir leaves three dead

06 June 2015 22:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least three suspected Kashmiri pro-independence fighters have been killed in a fierce exchange of fire between Indian forces and a group of armed men in the Indian-administered Kashmir, military sources say, APA reports quoting Press TV.

Lt. Col. Nitin N. Joshi, an Indian army spokesman, said that the violent clashes were triggered after the gunmen pushed their way into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from the Pakistani side.

The Indian military official added that Indian troops intercepted the fighters in the border district of Kupwara early Saturday.

The army did not suffer any casualties in the fighting, Joshi said.

Sources say at least three Indian soldiers, a civilian and five suspected Kashmiri fighters have lost their lives in two separate gun battles in the same frontier area over the past two weeks.

The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been the scene of fierce fighting and violent clashes in recent years. Indian army soldiers are in constant clashes with the fighters seeking independence in the troubled region.

Moreover, the central government in New Delhi has deployed a large number of paramilitary troops to most parts of the disputed valley to prevent anti-India rallies and street demonstrations.

Kashmir lies at the heart of a bitter territorial dispute and more than 67 years of hostility between Pakistan and India.

New Delhi and Islamabad claim the region in full, but rule parts of it only.

India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in Kashmir in November 26, 2003, and launched a peace process the following year. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes, with the two sides trading accusations of violating the ceasefire along their de-facto border dividing the disputed Kashmir.

Thousands of people have lost their lives in Kashmir unrest over the past two decades.