Srinagar, October 07: Soldiers shot dead five suspected Muslim militants on Wednesday during clashes in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir, the army said.
Four of the rebels were killed in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla, which border on Pakistan-administered Kashmir, army spokesman J.S. Brar told AFP.
“The fighting erupted when soldiers raided two hide-outs after getting specific information about the presence of militants,” he said.
In forests about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of summer capital Srinagar, fighting continued since Tuesday and one militant had been killed, he said.
Muslim rebels have been waging an insurgency since 1989 against India’s rule of the region in a conflict that has left more than 47,000 people dead.
Small groups of fighters from Pakistan-administered Kashmir have made repeated attempts to cross into India in recent months.
Despite the latest deaths, violence in the region has declined sharply since India and Pakistan, whose territorial dispute over Kashmir has triggered two wars, embarked on a peace process in 2004.
—Agencies