Killed and wounded in an exchange of fire in Kashmir
One person and a policeman were killed in Indian Kashmir in a shootout between militants and security forces, authorities said Wednesday.
One person and a policeman were killed in Indian Kashmir in a shootout between militants and security forces, authorities said Wednesday.
The exchange of fire, which took place in Baramulla district in north Kashmir, is the first announced by the Indian authorities since the abolition of autonomy for the part of Kashmir.
“A terrorist was killed and weapons and ammunition were found,” police said in a tweet on Twitter.
In another tweet, police said the militant killed was a member of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taliban militant group accused by New Delhi and Washington of organizing the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Observers believe that India uses and exploits the term terrorism to eliminate the rebels and activists claiming their rights in the Muslim-majority region, which India is trying to obliterate its Islamic identity.
New Delhi’s surprise announcement of the abolition of the constitutional status of the Kashmir-controlled part of the region has provoked demonstrations from the local population and the anger of Pakistan and China’s discontent.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonialism in 1947, and was the cause of two wars and countless clashes between the two arch rivals, the last in February.
