SRINAGAR, India - Four Indian army soldiers and a suspected rebel were killed in fighting in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Friday, officials said.
Lt. Col. Ankur Vashist, an army spokesman, said suspected rebels ambushed and fatally shot three soldiers who were heading for Buchoo village after intelligence suggested some insurgents were hiding there.
Army reinforcements searched a nearby forest area and lost another soldier in an exchange of gunfire with suspected rebels, Vashist said.
Police officer Abdul Gani Mir said one suspected militant also was killed in the fighting 25 miles south of Srinagar, the main city in the disputed Himalayan region.
The army was continuing its search for three more suspected militants believed to be hiding in the forest area, Vashist said.
No rebel groups fighting Indian rule have issued any statement on the fighting and it was not possible to independently verify the episode.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and the two have fought two wars over its control since they won independence from Britain in 1947.
Rebel groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or merger with Pakistan since 1989. More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the fighting.
Front Section, Pages 10 on 05/25/2013