Gun battle in Jammu Kashmir kills 4

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - Three militants and an Indian soldier were killed on Tuesday in northern Jammu Kashmir, Indian forces in the region said.

Police spokesman Manoj Pandita told Anadolu Agency that three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed in Magam village in Kupwara district.

The slain militants were Pakistani nationals, said sources in the police department, speaking to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

In a separate gun-battle in Zirhama area of the same district an Indian army soldier was killed and two others were wounded.

Col. Rajesh Kaila, a Kashmir-based defense spokesman of the Indian army, confirmed the soldier's death.

The gun battle was ongoing till the filing of this report.

According to police records, 194 militants have been killed this year, the highest figure in the past decade.

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.

The two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan. More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.