اردو
  • Indian forces martyred five Kashmiri youth in IOK

    Indian soldiers file photo Indian soldiers

    In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops, in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred five more Kashmiri youth in Bandipore district, on Saturday.

    The troops killed the youth during a siege and search operation at Chadergeera in Hajin area of the district. Earlier, a commando of Indian Air Force was killed and an army man was injured in an attack in the same area.

    The operation continued till reports last came in.

    The shootout began when soldiers cordoned off a neighbourhood in the northern area of Hajin after a tip-off that armed militants were hiding there, said army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia.

    "Five youth have been martyred in the operation," Kalia told AFP.

    "One IAF (India Air Force) soldier was killed and another army soldier was injured."

    On Friday a Kashmiri local and a police officer were killed in the outskirts of the main city of Srinagar during a brief shootout.

    Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the former Himalayan kingdom in full.

    Separatists have for decades fought Indian soldiers and paramilitaries deployed in the disputed region, demanding independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

    The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead.

    India accuses Pakistan of sending fighters across their de facto border in Kashmir to launch attacks on its forces.

    Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides moral and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri struggle for the right to self-determination