SRINAGAR: Indian troops killed a suspected fighter during a gun battle in occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, two officials said, as violence escalated in the disputed territory.

Fighting between Indian security personnel and Kashmiri fighters broke out in the early hours in the Surankote area of Jammu’s Poonch district, where a small group of armed activists are believed to be holed up, a police official said.

“We have shot (dead) one militant,” another security official said. Both declined to be named because they weren’t authorised to speak to media.

The military lost nine soldiers in the same area earlier this year.

In Srinagar, a policeman who was on a bus that was attacked by suspected fighters on Monday succumbed to his injuries, taking the number of fatalities from the incident to three, a local police official said.

Suspected fighters had opened fire on the bus on the outskirts of Srinagar, wounding 16 personnel who had all been taken to hospital.

Vijay Kumar, Kashmir valley’s police chief, alleged Monday’s attack had been carried out by members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2021