SRINAGAR: Five Indian soldiers and two Kashmiri fighters were killed during a firefight in India-held Kashmir on Wednesday, an army officer said.

An “intense firefight” broke out after Indian troops pursued the fighters into the dense forests of Kalakote, in the occupied territory’s south, the army’s 16 Corps said in a social media post.

The fighting killed five soldiers, including two elite commandos, and left another soldier wounded, an army officer said.

The army did not give details of how many fighters were involved.

The officer identified one of the two slain fighters as a “highly ranked” leader.

Journalist released

Separately, authorities in India-held Kashmir released a prominent journalist on bail on Thursday, nearly two years after he was arrested on charges of “glorifying terrorism” in the territory and “spreading fake news”.

Fahad Shah, a correspondent for US newspaper Christian Science Monitor and editor of The Kashmir Walla news portal, was arrested in February last year after police officers questioned him repeatedly for his reporting.

But a court granted him bail last week, agreeing with an earlier ruling that Shah’s preventative detention was untenable.

“It’s good to be back among my family and friends who stood by me. It was a difficult and traumatic period,” Shah said from his home in Srinagar. “It will be some time before I can feel normal again.”

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023