Srinagar, March 21 (TNS): A gunfight has claimed the lives of five soldiers and five suspected militants in occupied Kashmir, police say.
The fighters on Wednesday attacked security troops carrying out a search operation in forests around Kupwara, 95 km (60 miles) north of the main city of Srinagar, said Shamsher Hussain, senior superintendent of police in Kupwara.
Hussain said that the exchange of gunfire had stopped and the search operation was ongoing.
Tensions are high in the Indian-occupied region, where the Muslim-majority population stages regular protests against the Indian rule and demands autonomy from New Delhi.
New Delhi has deployed some 500,000 soldiers to the disputed region to further boost the security of the borderline and enforce a crackdown on pro-independence demonstrations in its share of Kashmir, where anti-India sentiments are high.
Courtesy: PressTV
