Four suspected rebels killed in Indian Kashmir

Two of the suspected rebels were killed when they tried to cross Line of Control.

SRINAGAR: Indian troops have shot dead four suspected militants in Kashmir, two of them when they tried to enter the divided region from the Pakistani side, police said Thursday.

Two of the suspected rebels were killed early Thursday in northern Kupwara district when they tried to cross the Line of Control (LoC) – the demarcation that splits Kashmir between India and Pakistan, a police spokesman said.

He said two more suspected militants were killed in two separate gunbattles on Thursday in Kupwara and Kishtiwar districts.

Last week, infiltrating militants shot dead four Indian soldiers in the same district of Kupwara.

India says it regularly intercepts rebels sneaking into Indian Kashmir to fight New Delhi's rule in the scenic Himalayan territory. Pakistan denies Indian allegations it helps the insurgents cross into Indian Kashmir.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which each country holds in part but claims in full.

The insurgency against New Delhi's rule has left more than 47,000 people dead since 1989, according to an official count.