on Monday, At least five Indian soldiers and two armed men were killed in a sequence of gun battles in India-occupied Kashmir, where security forces have moved forward operations after Indian soldier’s killings in recent days.
In the deadliest episode for Indian forces in the Himalayan region this year, a military spokesman said four soldiers and one officer died in a shootout.
“They were moved to a nearby medical facility but succumbed to their injuries,” spokesman Lt Col Davinder Anand said.
“The operation is ongoing,” he added.
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The Muslim-majority disputed region has been on the edge since the killing of three Hindus and a Sikh, including two teachers, last week which prompted a crackdown by Indian authorities.
In the northern area of the region, security forces shot dead a man and stated the deceased was from The Resistance Front (TRF). The deceased was a suspect supposedly involved in the killing of a civilian driver and security forces had been searching for him after arresting four of his associates on Sunday, police chief Vijay Kumar claimed.
“He was shot dead this morning,” Kumar said.
In a distinct incident, another armed man was killed in a gun battle in south Kashmir, added Kumar.
Since a ceasefire along the LoC was announced in February, the shootings were the deadliest attack on military forces in the area.
Tensions have escalated further in recent weeks with a series of shootings of civilians in the region, with seven killed last week alone in attacks claimed by a new group against Indian occupation.
Some 650 residents suspected to have connections with banned religious and armed groups have been detained following the shootings, a police source stated.
“No stone will be left unturned to find the killers,” the senior police officer said.
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Authorities say at least 29 civilians — including workers from pro-India political parties — have been shot dead in the disputed region this year, one of them by Indian forces.
The moderately new group, The Resistance Front, claimed responsibility for the seven killings and accused those killed of working for occupier mercenary forces and occupier stooges.
The statements, issued only in English, were spread in several WhatsApp groups and could not be autonomously verified.
One of the two men killed on Monday was alleged of being involved, authorities said. His family told reporters that Indian soldiers picked him up on Sunday and then shot him dead while in their custody.
On Saturday, Human Rights Watch called for the culprits as well as Indian forces blamed for abuses including harassment, torture and extrajudicial killings to be held accountable.
“Kashmiris are caught in unending violence from attacks by militants and abuses by government authorities and security forces,” HRW’s South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said in a statement.
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