Rebels storm Indian paramilitary camp in Kashmir; 7 dead
By The Associated Press
SRINAGAR, India — Dec 31, 2017, 6:23 AM ET
Four Indian soldiers and three suspected militants were killed Sunday after rebels stormed a paramilitary camp in disputed Kashmir, officials said.
Separately, Indian and Pakistani soldiers traded gunfire along the highly militarized line dividing Kashmir between the two rivals, killing an Indian soldier, India's army said.
In the incident at the paramilitary camp, gunmen in combat dress entered the camp near southern Lethpora village early Sunday firing guns and grenades at the sentry, said paramilitary spokesman Rajesh Yadav. He said soldiers inside the camp were responding to the attack, which left at least three soldiers wounded.
The initial assault left one paramilitary soldier dead and two others wounded. Police said reinforcements of army soldiers and counterinsurgency police encircled the camp and were exchanging gunfire with the assailants.
In the subsequent fighting, two more paramilitary soldiers were killed and another soldier died of
cardiac arrest while being evacuated along with many others who were trapped in the camp's residential buildings.
Yadav said troops recovered the bodies of three suspected militants and were searching a building in the camp for another militant.
The camp is located along the strategic highway connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of
India and close to the chain of plateaus famed for Kashmir's saffron fields. Besides counterinsurgency operations, the camp also serves as a training center for soldiers.
No rebel group fighting against Indian rule immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Anti-India unrest has simmered in Kashmir since a popular rebel leader was killed over a year ago. Apart from mass anti-India protests and clashes often leading to the deaths of protesters since the leader's killing, dozens of young Kashmiri men have joined rebel groups, leading to a surge in attacks. The Indian government responded by stepping up anti-rebel operations.
Over 200 militants, 78 police officers and soldiers, and at least 57 civilians have died in the violence this year, the deadliest since 2010.
Also on Sunday, the Indian army said one soldier was killed after Pakistani troops fired at forward posts in Nowshera sector along the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Col. Nitin Joshi, an Indian military spokesman, called it an "unprovoked violation" of the 2003 cease-fire accord between India and Pakistan, and said the Indian army "retaliated strongly and effectively."
There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan.