Two suspected rebels killed in Indian Kashmir gun battle
AFP
Government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir killed two suspected rebels in a gun battle yesterday, police said, and a manhunt was under way for more militants in the disputed Himalayan territory, reports AFP from Srinagar.
Soldiers and special counterinsurgency police forces surrounded a neighbourhood in Sopore, 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the main city of Srinagar, after receiving a tip-off that armed militants were hiding there, triggering a firefight. Two militants killed in an encounter with police, police said in a statement, adding that a search was on for others suspected of being holed up in the area. In recent months, the Indian army has stepped up its hunt for anti-India rebels in the Kashmir valley after deploying thousands of additional troops for an offensive dubbed Operation Allout.
The latest gun battle came two days after Indian troops shot dead a suspected militant in southern Kulgam town, hours after militants separately ambushed a police bus in Srinagar, killing one officer and wounding seven.
