SRINAGAR: Officials in India-held Kashmir claimed on Wednesday that 10 people — five Indian soldiers and policemen and five suspected militants — have been killed in a continuing and fierce gun battle.

The clash began on Tuesday when an army patrol was attacked by unknown men in the northern forests of Halmatpura, near the Line of Control, claimed Indian army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia.

Three bodies of suspected militants were retrieved from the area on Tuesday and another on Wednesday as the exchange of fire continued into a second day, police said.

On Wednesday two soldiers and two members of the police special forces were killed as more troops were rushed in to search the forest, a senior police officer said.

“At least one more militant is still fighting,” the officer said.

Col Kalia confirmed that firing was still going on in the area.

The militants attacked security forces carrying out a search operation in forests around Kupwara, 95km north of Srinagar, said Shamsher Hussain, senior superintendent of police in Kupwara.

Hours later, he confirmed that the fighting had ended and a search operation was under way.

Militant groups have for decades fought with Indian forces, seeking independence or a merger of the entire disputed region with Pakistan.

Most people in the Himalayan region support the militants’ cause and often come out onto the streets armed with stones.

Armed encounters bet­ween militants and Indian troops are also frequent.

The Indian army is said to have killed more than 200 suspected militants last year during a counter-insurgency offensive dubbed “Operation All Out”.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2018