South Asia News

Indian army officer, policeman killed in Kashmir (Roundup)

Jul 20, 2008, 13:54 GMT

Srinagar, India - One Indian Army officer and one policeman were killed and three other security personnel seriously wounded in a gunbattle with suspected militants in Jammu and Kashmir state on Sunday, the police said. Major Bhanu Pratap Singh and police constable Sanjeev Raina were killed in a clash with militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba group, defence spokesman SD Goswami said. A special force comprising soldiers and policemen were carrying out search operations in a heavily forested area near Thana Mandi in Rajouri district, about 190 kilometres north of the state's winter capital Jammu, when a group of five to six militants opened fire, he said. He said two soldiers and another policeman were injured. In a separate incident on Sunday, one tourist was killed and six injured when suspected militants lobbed grenades at a tourist vehicle in the resort of Gulmarg, about 65 kilometres west of the state's summer capital Srinagar. Security forces cordoned off the area to track down the militants responsible for the attack. Two of the tourists, including a girl, were in serious condition, the police said. On Saturday, nine Indian soldiers were killed and 13 wounded when militants detonated a mine on a highway near summer capital Srinagar. The Hizb-ul Mujahideen group claimed responsibility for the attack in calls to the local media. Secessionist militants have increased their activity in Jammu and Kashmir as elections to the state legislative assembly near. The elections are scheduled to be held latest by October. India's Defence Minister AK Antony said the attacks would not stop the government from holding the elections. Defence sources said militant attacks had increased in India-administrated Kashmir in recent months with rebels infiltrating across the line of control from Pakistan. The line of control is a de facto border that divides the disputed Kasmir region between India and Pakistan. More than 40,000 people have been killed in violent secessionist militant activity in India-administered Kashmir since the early 1990s. The dead include security personnel, civilians and militants. India alleges that Pakistan has been aiding Kashmiri militants, a charge Islamabad denies. Pakistan calls the rebels freedom fighters. The Hizb-ul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Toiba are Islamic militant groups which, according to Indian intelligence agencies, have their bases in Pakistan. Nuclear-capable South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947. Two of these were over Kashmir. The two countries are currently engaged in dialogue to resolve disputes including that over Kashmir. A fifth round of talks is scheduled to begin in the Indian capital on Monday.

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Indian army officer, policeman killed in Kashmir (Roundup)

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