Two suspected Kashmiri separatists killed in clash with Indian forces

Two suspected separatists were killed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) during a firefight with soldiers, police said Tuesday, at a time when campaigning for national elections is underway in the disputed territory.

Scores of soldiers besieged a residential area in southern Kulgam district, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) from IIOJK's biggest city Srinagar, on Monday after armed separatists were suspected to be present inside a house.

Two bodies of the suspected separatists "were recovered so far" from the site, police said in a statement posted Tuesday on social media platform X.

Images from the area showed smoke billowing from a house after it caught fire during the skirmish.

Separatist groups opposed to Indian rule have for decades waged an insurgency in IIOJK, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Read also: Indian Air Force corporal killed in attack in IIOJK

The conflict has left tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and separatists dead.

Violence and anti-India protests have drastically reduced since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government cancelled the Muslim majority region's limited autonomy.

But clashes between security forces and separatist groups have increased since voting began last month in India's six-week election.

Three suspected separatists were killed and a police officer and three soldiers wounded in three separate clashes across the territory in April.

Separatists ambushed a military convoy in IIOJK's south on Sunday, killing one Indian air force corporal and wounding four other troops.