SRINAGAR: Two suspected Kashmiri fighters and an Indian soldier were killed in occupied Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said.

Indian forces also claimed to have detained a suspected fighter after the fighting.

Paramilitary officer Pankaj Singh said three fighters on a motorbike fired at a patrol party on the outskirts of Srinagar.

He claimed the soldiers gunned down two of the fighters. The third assailant tried to escape but was caught after a chase, he said.

The officer said soldiers seized a pistol and a grenade from the site of the shootout.

However, there was no independent confirmation of the incident.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said he hoped the occupied valley would remain peaceful during summer this year. “We are hopeful that the situation would remain peaceful,” he said to journalists.

He was responding to a question about the possibility of unrest during summer in the disputed region.

He said police had got some clues about people behind the grenade attack near Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Sunday. Kashmiri fighters had hurled a grenade on security personnel on duty near the chowk, injuring two soldiers and seven civilians.

Kashmiri fighters have been fighting Indian control of occupied Kashmir since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the fighters’ demand that the India-held territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country, while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

About 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian crackdown.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2020