Srinagar, Nov. 18 (TNS): At least five freedom fighters were martyred and an Indian air force (IAF) commando was killed while a trooper wounded on Saturday in an ongoing fierce gunfight in restive Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK).
The gunfight erupted at village Hajin in Bandipora, about 32 km north of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-occupied Kashmir.
“In an intense gunfight today in Hajin, Bandiora, five militants were killed,” Col Rajesh Kalia, Indian army spokesperson said. “While fighting militants, one IAF garud was killed and an army trooper injured.”
The gunfight triggered after joint contingents of Indian military, paramilitary and police cordoned off the area on specific intelligence inputs about presence of freedom fighters.
According to officials, the slain IAF commando was part of the joint team that took on militants in the village.
Last month two IAF personnel were killed in a similar gunfight in the village.
A guerilla war is going on between freedom fighters and Indian troops stationed in Indian- occupied Kashmir since 1989. The gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently across the region.
