SRINAGAR: Two K
ashmiri fighters were killed in armed clashes on Thursday, offici
als said, in another day of bloodshed in K
ashmir where tensions are high following the death of a prominent K
ashmiri leader.
The fighters were killed in Kulgam, south of the main city of Srinagar in Indian-occupied K
ashmir, when they walked into an ambush laid by Indian soldiers. “It was a deliberate and swift operation,” an Indian army officer said. In a separate incident, two Indian troops were killed and anoth
er injured in a shootout with fighters in Shopian district, the officer said on condition of anonymity. The soldiers came under fire as they surrounded a house suspected of harbouring the fighters, and w
ere evacuated fro
m the scene. It was not clear if the fighters inside evaded capture. “Three soldiers w
ere evacuated by air but two of them died before reaching a military hospital,” a police officer said.
The violence comes just days after Indian forces killed top commander Abu Dujana, who headed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group in K
ashmir.
His death sparked protests and violent clashes across K
ashmir, in which two civilians, including a teenage student, were killed.
Schools and colleges remained shut Thursday amid fears of further protests against Indian occupation.
K
ashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both clai
m the restive region in full.
For decades, K
ashmiri groups have fought 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding merger of the former Himalayan kingdom with Pakistan.
Published in Daily Times, August 4th 2017.