SRINAGAR: Indian troops fought a gun battle with pro-independence fighters in Kashmir on Tuesday after a car bomb attack and other clashes left four soldiers and three fighters dead in 24 hours, military officials said.

A soldier and two suspected fighters were killed in the latest shootout in the Anantnag area of India-held Kashmir, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.

Another two soldiers were killed and many more wounded when a car bomb hit an Indian military truck late on Monday in Pulwama district, the statement added.

The remote-controlled bomb was set off in the same district where a suicide bomber in February targetted an Indian convoy and killed 40 paramilitaries. The attack led to India and Pakistan staging tit-for-tat air raids.

Col Kalia called the car bomb “a failed attempt” to hit an Indian patrol, but gave no other details.

However, a senior police officer speaking on condition of anonymity said that at least 12 soldiers were wounded in the blast and taken to a military hospital in Srinagar.

Hours before the car bombing, a clash between suspected fighters and Indian forces left one soldier and one soldier dead, according to Kalia.

Southern parts of India-held Kashmir have seen intense fighting over the past three years between Indian forces and locals, who are demanding independence for the disputed Himalayan region or a merger with Pakistan.

More than 100 Kashmiri fighters have been killed in the region this year in clashes with soldiers. India has about 500,000 troops in held Kashmir, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said they have a “free hand” to eliminate fighters in the restive territory.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2019