SRINAGAR: Four suspected militants and a soldier were killed early on Thursday in India-held Kashmir in a gunbattle near the Line of Control, the second such incident in 24 hours, a police officer said.

Police sealed off a forested area in northern Handwara overnight on suspicion that militants were moving towards a village, triggering a 10-hour gunbattle between the government forces and militants.

“The militants were engaged near a stream in the forested area. All four of them were killed and we also lost a soldier in the fighting,” deputy inspector general of police for the area, Gharib Das, said adding that two soldiers were injured.

Also read: Two killed in Kashmir

Fighting between troops and militants has increased recently in the disputed region, with four suspected militants killed and another captured during a day-long battle last week.

On Wednesday, government forces reportedly killed a militant from the Hizbul Mujahideen group in a battle in Rafiabad area that also left one soldier dead.

Several militant groups have for decades battled hundreds of thousands of Indian troops deployed in the region, seeking independence for Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

The conflict has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.

The two countries’ border security chiefs are preparing to meet in New Delhi this month amid an increase in firing by their troops across the Line of Control.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2015

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