Indian troops claim killing three suspected rebels in IoK

SRINAGAR: Police and troops claimed killing three suspected rebels in two separate gunbattles in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Tuesday, one of them near the de facto border with Pakistan.

Soldiers and members of the police's special operations group surrounded Hadoora, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the main city of Srinagar, after a tip-off about suspected rebels inside a house in the village.

"In the ensuing gunfight two 'militants' were killed. Both are foreigners" (a standard reference to rebels from Pakistan-administered Kashmir), police Superintendent Imtiyaz Ismael told AFP.

The Indian Army also claimed that a group of 'militants' attempted to cross the Line of Control (LoC) in the Sundabani sector, but were intercepted by Indian soldiers.

"One 'terrorist' was eliminated in the operation while the balance group fled towards Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," said a statement by Indian Army.

Several rebel groups have spent decades fighting Indian soldiers deployed in the disputed territory, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan which also claims the Himalayan region in its entirety.

Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.

Dozens of local youths joined the uprising following the killing of a popular rebel leader Burhan Wani by the Indian forces in July last year. The incident sparked months of anti-India unrest which left more than 90 civilians dead.

Clashes between the rebels and government forces have grown more frequent since then.