Two killed in gunbattle in occupied Kashmir: police

Published August 21, 2019
In this file photo taken on August 19, the clock tower at deserted Lal Chowk is pictured during a security lockdown in Srinagar, occupied Kashmir. — AFP
In this file photo taken on August 19, the clock tower at deserted Lal Chowk is pictured during a security lockdown in Srinagar, occupied Kashmir. — AFP

A Kashmiri fighter and a police officer were killed in a gunbattle in occupied Kashmir, Indian police said on Wednesday, as tensions simmered in the besieged territory.

The clash in north Kashmir's Baramulla district was the first to be reported by Indian authorities since New Delhi revoked occupied Kashmir's special status on August 5 and imposed a massive security lockdown on the restive region.

A tweet from Kashmir police said that the dead Kashmiri fighter was identified as a local man "affiliated" with Lashkar-i-Taiba.

Clashes are common between Indian security forces and Kashmiri fighters opposed to Indian rule, with tens of thousands of people killed in the past 30 years, most of them civilians, adding to public resentment towards New Delhi.

India deployed tens of thousands of troops ahead of its August 5 move in order to contain public anger, severely restricting movement of people and cutting landlines, mobile phones and the internet.

Read: Schools deserted in occupied Kashmir as parents fear more unrest

Some of the curbs have begun to be eased in recent days with few landlines operational again and schools re-opened, although next to no children attended.

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