In a deadly confrontation in Indian-administered Kashmir, at least four police officers and three suspected militants lost their lives during an extended gunfight, according to officials reporting on the incident Friday.
The clash erupted on Thursday when a coordinated effort by police counterinsurgency units and soldiers encircled a forested location in the Kathua district of the Jammu region based on intelligence about anti-India insurgents’ presence there, as noted by the police. The ensuing violent exchange involving weapons, grenades, and rockets resulted in the deaths of three police officers and three alleged rebels. The confrontation also left six police personnel and two soldiers injured that day. Tragically, the body of another policeman was discovered on Friday.
Officials indicated that recovery of the bodies remained pending due to the ongoing skirmish in the region. Security forces suspect that the group involved in the current fight might have been the same that managed to evade a security perimeter during a brief gunfire encounter approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) from this site the previous Sunday.
The territorial dispute over Kashmir between nuclear-capable neighbors India and Pakistan persists, with each nation governing parts but claiming the entire region. Since 1989, militants in the Indian-held section of Kashmir have been resisting Indian authority. A significant number of Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ ambition for either Pakistani governance or the establishment of an independent state.
India maintains that the insurgency in Kashmir is orchestrated by Pakistan. Conversely, Pakistan denies these allegations, with many Kashmiris deeming it a legitimate struggle for liberation. The ongoing conflict has resulted in countless fatalities among civilians, insurgents, and government forces.
Tensions have been particularly high since 2019 when the Indian government revoked the area’s semi-autonomous status, restricting dissent, limiting civil liberties, and curtailing media freedom while intensifying counter-insurgency operations. Although the Kashmir Valley, known as the epicenter of anti-Indian resistance, frequently records militant casualties in counter-insurgent military actions, outlying areas in the Jammu region, notably Rajouri, Poonch, and Kathua, have also witnessed deadly attacks against Indian soldiers in recent years. These perilous incidents have claimed the lives of at least 60 soldiers.