Indian security forces have eliminated eight militants during two separate raids in disputed Kashmir over the last 24 hours. The operations took place days after a deadly border clash with China.
Police and security forces conducted a raid in the Pampore area of the Indian-held part of Kashmir after receiving an intelligence report of militant presence there. One terrorist was killed in a firefight, while two more retreated and hid inside a nearby mosque. According to police, tear gas was used to eject the militants from the building. Both of them were killed, and there was no damage to the mosque.
In a separate operation, security personnel encountered five terrorists in the Shopian area. All of the militants were killed in the ensuing gun battle. There were no reports of police or civilian casualties.
India regularly carries out raids against Islamist insurgents in the area, clearing their camps and busting weapons caches in remote locations.
The situation on the ground remains tense as earlier this week Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the disputed border in Ladakh, a part of the greater Kashmir region. The confrontation left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Beijing said that there were casualties on both sides but did not release the number of Chinese soldiers dead or wounded. The sides are currently holding talks to defuse the tensions.
India and its western neighbor Pakistan, which claims the whole of Kashmir as its territory, occasionally engage in cross-border shelling, with both sides blaming each other for starting the conflicts.
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