Army says 10 killed in clashes with militants in Indian Kashmir

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Indian forces and suspected Islamic militants clashed Sunday in two separate incidents in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 10 people, including three civilians and a news photographer, the army said. Two soldiers and four gunmen were also killed in the fighting, as one gun-battle raged for more than 16 hours after soldiers surrounded six suspected militants holed up in a house, Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. S.D. Goswami said. In the first clash, soldiers confronted a group of gunmen who had apparently infiltrated the area from across the de-facto border with Pakistan, Goswami said. The militants were found after dawn in the village of Kehli Mandi, about 220 miles (350 kilometers) south of Indian Kashmir's main city, Srinagar. As soldiers approached, the gunmen opened fire, hitting a house, killing two civilians inside and wounding two others, he said.