India police say five ‘foreign’ fighters killed in Kashmir

Officials claim the five fighters were killed in a firefight along the de facto border with neighboring Pakistan.

Indian police say security forces killed five foreign fighters in a firefight in Indian-administered Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border with Pakistan in the Himalayan region.

A joint team of the Indian army and police prevented infiltration across the border by the fighters, police said early Friday.

“Five foreign militants were killed during the operation in the Jumagund area near the LOC. The search in the area is ongoing,” said Vijay Kumar, Indian Police Chief in Indian-administered Kashmir.

He did not specify their nationalities.

Fully claimed by both India and Pakistan, but only partially controlled by each of its nuclear-armed neighbours, Muslim-majority Kashmir has been the scene of a bloody uprising against New Delhi since the 1990s.

Hindu India says Pakistan supports insurgency in Kashmir. Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it is only providing diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri people.

Ashok Yadav, a senior Indian security official assigned to border security, said last week that snowmelt in the mountains could open up traditional infiltration routes along the LoC.

The Indian army said it had also thwarted two infiltration attempts since Thursday.

Indian Army spokesman Devender Anand said in one instance that troops challenged the infiltrators but they managed to escape under cover of darkness, bad weather and thick foliage.

“A large cache of weapons and ammunition left behind by fleeing infiltrators was recovered during a search of the area,” he said.