7 Killed during Clashes in Kashmir Region

Six suspected rebels and an Indian soldier were killed in two separate counterinsurgency operations in disputed Kashmir, police revealed on Thursday.

The bitter clash came during a surge in the government’s offensive against anti-India rebels in Kashmir, which is pided between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and claimed by both.

Police stated that the fighting erupted after government forces cordoned off two southern villages in Anantnag and Pulwama districts on Wednesday night in search of militants reportedly hiding there.

Officials reported that six militants were killed in the two incidents, and three soldiers and one police officer were also injured. Later, they added that and one of the soldiers died at a hospital.

In a statement, police mentioned that two of the slain suspected militants were Pakistani nationals but offered no evidence.

Three of the dead, including a Pakistani, were involved in an attack on a police bus in the outskirts of the region’s main city of Srinagar on December 13, according to the statement.

At least 168 militants, 34 civilians, and 30 Indian troops have been killed this year in the Kashmir Valley, according to government records.

Notably, rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.