Indian forces kill 6 militants in Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - Six militants were killed on Friday in an attack by the Indian forces on a militant hideout in southern Kashmir, police said.

“In one of the most successful operations of this year six militants have been killed. Operation was launched on a hideout in foothills of Waghama Sutkipora of Bijbeihara Anantnag. Six dead bodies of militants and six rifles have been recovered,” Jammu and Kashmir police spokesman Manoj Pandita said in a statement.

One of the slain militants has been identified as Azad Malik, whom the local police had accused of involvement in the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari earlier this year.

As the news of killings spread, people came out on the streets shouting pro-independence slogans and clashing with the police, local newspapers reported.

The regional government suspended mobile internet services in Anantnag district as a “precautionary measure.” Train services have also been suspended in the south.

Jammu and 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.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.