6 rebels, 1 soldier killed in Kashmir ahead of Modi's visit

Six suspected rebels and an Indian paramilitary officer have been killed in two separate armed clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Six suspected rebels and an Indian paramilitary officer were killed in two separate armed clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Friday, two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the disputed region.

A gunfight broke out on the outskirts of southern Jammu city early Friday after police and soldiers spotted a group of militants in Sunjwan, a garrison town, police said.

Two militants and a paramilitary officer were killed, and at least two soldiers and two police officials were injured in the ensuing fighting, police said.

Troops were scurrying through the garrison area, which saw a major militant attack in 2018 that left at least five soldiers and one civilian dead.

Dilbag Singh, director-general of police, told New Delhi Television that the slain militants “were planning a major attack.”

Some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Sunjwan town, Modi is scheduled to speak Sunday in his first public event in the disputed region since New Delhi stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status in 2019 and divided it into two directly governed territories. The region has remained on edge ever since, as authorities put in place a slew of new laws that critics and many residents fear could change the region’s demographics.

Modi’s two earlier visits after 2019 were to military camps to celebrate a Hindu festival with soldiers.

In a separate clash on Thursday, government forces killed four militants in Malwah, a village northwest of the region’s main city of Srinagar, police said Friday.

At least four soldiers and a policeman were also injured in the fighting, a police statement said.

Police identified one of the slain militants as Yousuf Kantroo and said he had been the longest surviving rebel commander in Kashmir.

There was no independent confirmation of the incidents.

India and Pakistan both claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety.

Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.