 Two Islamic militants and two policemen died in a gunbattle during a pre-Republic Day raid on a rebel hideout in Indian Kashmir. The militants were killed in a joint raid by the army and counter-insurgency police in the northern district of Kupwara bordering Pakistani Kashmir, Indian army spokesman Colonel Hemant Juneja said. Two policemen also died in the fire fight. Another gunbattle “sparked by a similar raid” was under way in the same district, Juneja said. The raids were part of tightened security across the region ahead of India’s Republic Day celebrations Thursday. |