World, Asia - Pacific

3 Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir army camp attack

2 militants also killed as Indian soldiers return fire

27.04.2017 - Update : 27.04.2017
3 Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir army camp attack FILE PHOTO

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir

Indian forces shot dead a 70-year-old civilian when they opened fire on protesters seeking the bodies of two militants who had been killed in an attack on an garrison Thursday morning in disputed Jammu and Kashmir. 

Senior Superintendent of Police in Kupwara Shamsher Hussain confirmed to the media that Indian army opened fire on the crowd that had gathered outside the camp. 

According to locals in Panzgam, several hundred people refused to budge unless they were handed over the bodies of the two Muslim militants whose ‘last religious rites they wanted to perform’. 

Earlier, a group of militants stormed an Indian army camp in disputed Kashmir region, killing three soldiers including a senior officer, a police official said.

The incident took place at the highly-fortified Panzgam army garrison in northern Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

Five soldiers were also injured in the incident and were rushed to an army hospital in Srinagar.

According to a police official, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, a senior officer was among the three slain Indian soldiers.

Two militants were also killed as soldiers returned fire.

"A group of four militants is believed to have entered into the camp before sunrise [...] and the gun battle began soon after," the official said. "Only two of the militants were killed, there is a search going on for others."

The camp is close to the de facto border between India and Pakistan that divides Kashmir into two parts.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu Kashmir have been fighting for independence or unification with neighboring Pakistan. More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.


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