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India-Pakistan

J&K encounter toll rises to 24: Indian Army

2009-03-24

SRINAGAR: Troops in Kashmir shot dead five militants on Tuesday, bringing the death toll on both sides from several days of forest gunbattles to 24, the army said. An army statement said eight soldiers and 16 rebels have so far died in the fighting in Kupwara district close to the Line of Control that divides the Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of the Himalayan region.

The gunfights were first reported on Saturday and followed a cross-border incident involving Indian and Pakistani troops that left one Indian soldier injured.

The Pakistani were providing covering fire for infiltrating terrorists

Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control in 2003 and have since held slow-moving peace negotiations. But the peace process ground to a halt following November's Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai that India has blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The funeral of one of the Indian troops killed in the fighting was also held on Tuesday, with the event well-attended, witnesses said, even though it is rare for residents of Kashmir to honour those fighting for India. The dead soldier, a Shiite Muslim from a village northeast of Srinagar, died on Monday during heavy exchange of fire with rebels.

Posted by:john frum

#5 It's a good think that Pakis were providing covering fire, otherwise it might've been effective

Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-24 20:02

#4 Kupwara gunbattle ends, 17 militants killed

PTI | Srinagar

Six more militants were killed on Tuesday taking the death toll in the fierce gunbattle between militants and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district to 25 as the five-day-long stand-off ended this evening.

Seventeen militants and eight Army personnel, including a Major, were killed in the encounter which began on March 20 on higher reaches of the Shamsabari range in Harfada forest, a defence spokesman said.

Four soldiers and five militants were killed on Monday while an ultra died a day before. On Saturday, four troops, including Major Mohit Sharma, and two insurgents, were killed.

On the first day, three militants were mowed down by the security forces.

Posted by: john frum 2009-03-24 19:23

#3 The Pakistani were providing covering fire for infiltrating terrorists

Yeah. Still, what can be gained?

Posted by: Shipman 2009-03-24 19:16

#2 Kashmiri relatives of Indian Army soldier Shabir Ahmed Malik mourn during his funeral procession in Dab, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) Northeast of Srinagar, India, Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Malik was killed in an ongoing battle which has claimed seven other army soldiers and sixteen suspected rebels, Lt Col. J.S. Brar of the Indian Army said.

An Indian army soldier stands guard during the funeral of Shabir Ahmad Malik, a Kashmiri Muslim soldier from the Indian army, in Dab, 35km (21 miles) north of Srinagar March 24, 2009. At least 19 people have been killed after four days of gun fighting between Indian soldiers and Muslim militants in disputed Kashmir near the Pakistan border, the army said on Monday

People gather for the funeral of Shabir Ahmad Malik, a Kashmiri Muslim soldier from the Indian army, in Dab, 35km (21 miles) north of Srinagar March 24, 2009. At least 19 people have been killed after four days of gun fighting between Indian soldiers and Muslim militants in disputed Kashmir near the Pakistan border, the army said on Monday. Four soldiers including Malik and five militants were killed on Monday alone, the army said, the highest number of people killed in a single firefight between Muslim militants and Indian troops in the Himalayan region in the past year.

Posted by: john frum 2009-03-24 10:44

Posted by: john frum 2009-03-24 10:39

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