SRINAGAR: Eight Kashmiri fighters were killed in a series of clashes with Indian soldiers this week, police said on Friday.

Shooting broke out on Thursday when Indian soldiers launched a “search for militants” in occupied Kashmir’s Kulgam district, with five men killed on Friday, police said.

The five were all said to be affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, police said.

In a separate clash, also on Thursday, Indian forces killed two Kashmiri fighters near the Line of Control.

Another fighter was killed in the Rajouri area on Friday during a shootout with soldiers, a police statement said.

India-occupied Kashmir has simmered in anger since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government annulled its limited constitutional autonomy in 2019 and imposed direct rule.

Indian authorities say 114 people have been killed this year, including 11 civilians and 23 soldiers.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2023