Indian troops killed nine suspected militants in shootouts across Kashmir, police said on Monday, a week before local elections in the disputed region that are being boycotted by the 'rebels'. "Security forces have fought pitched battles with militants at several places during the past two days," a police spokesman said. "An army officer was wounded and nine militants were killed in the fights." Officials said that clashes between Indian troops and militants in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) had intensified as militants descend on to the plains to avoid the icy winters of the Himalayan mountain tops.
Multi-stage elections are due to start from November 17 in IHK, which has recently witnessed some of the biggest anti-India protests since a separatist revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out in the region in 1989.