AFP, SRINAGAR, India: An Indian soldier and two suspected rebels were killed Friday in a gun battle in northern Indian-administered Kashmir as tensions along the de facto border with Pakistan flared again this week.
The Indian army, which maintains a heavy presence in the disputed territory, said that the two separatist rebels had clashed with soldiers in Naidkhai, just north of the main city Srinagar.
“Two terrorists were killed and a soldier was martyred. Two weapons and a grenade launcher were recovered from the site of the encounter,” Colonel Rajesh Kaia said.
The Indian army resumed its counterinsurgency operations recently after months of mass protests against Indian rule left more than 90 civilians dead and thousands more injured.
The protests have largely subsided but a crackdown on suspected protesters is continuing.
Suspected rebels attacked a police patrol in a separate incident on Friday in the southern Kulgam region, killing two officers and injuring one.
“It was an ambush on a police party. They fired from automatic weapons and killed two of our colleagues,” a local police officer told AFP.