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SRINAGAR — A gunbattle between government forces and suspected Islamic insurgents raged for a fourth day Sunday in a densely forested region of Indian Kashmir, police said. At least seven combatants have been killed.
The fighting started Thursday when government soldiers came under fire as they were searching for about half a dozen militants believed to be hiding near Bhatidhar, a remote village about 110 miles (180 kilometers) southwest of Srinagar, said Col. D.K. Kachari, an Indian army spokesman.
The area has been a stronghold of rebel groups since they launched an insurgency in 1989 seeking Indian Kashmir's independence or merger with neighboring Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety.
Four suspected insurgents, two army soldiers and one police officer were killed in the gunbattle, said K. Rajendran, an inspector-general of police. Three soldiers and three police officers were injured.
"We have killed four suspected militants but their bodies are yet to be recovered because of the continuing exchange of gunfire," he said.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents to fight Indian forces in Kashmir, a charge denied by Islamabad.
The countries have fought two wars for control of Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
