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Indian forces killed three militants in a shootout in a forested area in Kashmir’s conflict zone, officials said on Monday.
The Indian military in a statement on social media said three extremists had been killed “in a fierce gunfight” in the Dachigam region, about 30 kilometres northeast of the region’s major city of Srinagar.
Police inspector General Vidi Kumar Badi told reporters that joint military, paramilitary and police operations are still underway.
Authorities did not provide any other details.
Nuclearly armed rivals India and Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir’s Himalayan region, but both claim the entire territory.
Extremists in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s domination since 1989.
Many Muslim Kashmiris supports the rebels’ goal of territorial integration, both under Pakistan’s control and independent states.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces were killed in the conflict.
The incident on Monday marks the second major shootout since the local gun massacre in April killed 26 people, primarily Hindu tourists, in India-controlled Kashmir.
It led to a fierce military strike by India and Pakistan, which led to a third war on the region by neighboring rivals.
Before the April gun massacre in the town of Pahargam, the fighting largely declined in the Kashmir Valley, the centre of anti-Indian rebellion, and moved primarily to the mountainous regions of Jammu in recent years.
The massacre raised tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to the worst military conflict in decades and the deaths of dozens of people until they reached a ceasefire on May 10th after US mediation.
The region has simmered in rage since New Delhi ended its semi-autonomous position in 2019 and significantly suppressed objections, civil liberties and media freedoms while intensifying the insurgency.
Additional sources •AP
