JAMMU, Aug 16: Indian forces in occupied Kashmir have killed 700 Mujahideen in the last seven months, an Indian defence spokesman claimed on Friday.

The figure includes 322 “foreign nationals”, the spokesman claimed.

Of the total number of fighters killed between January and July this year, 162 could not be identified, Lt Col B.S. Rathore said.

The “foreign nationals” were from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia’s Chechnya and Arab countries, Rathore said.

Arms and equipment recovered from the slain included 804 assault rifles, 25 rockets launchers, 21 machineguns, 4,373 hand grenades and large quantities of high-grade explosives, he claimed. There were as many as 41 encounters during the six-month period with militants attempting to cross the line of control, the spokesman alleged.

In these encounters, Indian troops killed 51 “foreign militants” and 131 who were either Indians or whose nationality could not be identified, he said.

Rathore said the “infiltration from across the border” had increased in recent weeks, but did not give any estimates of how many people had crossed over.—AFP