Indian forces kill militant in Kashmir’s south

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Indian forces on Tuesday killed a militant in Jammu and Kashmir’s south, local media reported.

Citing a police official, the Greater Kashmir, a local daily, reported that a brief encounter between militants and the Indian forces took place in Pulwama district that resulted in the killing of a militant.

The slain militant was identified as Irfan Ahmad Rather, a resident of the district, according to the daily.

It was the second shootout between Indian forces and Kashmiri rebels in first week of 2019.

On Jan. 3, three militants were killed in a gunfight with Indian forces in Tral area of Pulwama district. Protests were reported near and around the gunfight site in which several civilians were injured, of whom six were hit by lethal pellets.

Just previous year -- deadliest in last ten years -- 586 people were killed, including 160 civilians, 267 militants and 159 Indian security personnel, said Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies, a Kashmir-based rights group.

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.