Five people - two soldiers, two Islamic rebels and a teenaged girl - have been killed in separate incidents of militant violence in Indian Kashmir, police said today.
Islamic rebels, armed with AK-47 rifles and hand grenades, attacked Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers this morning, killing a sub-inspector and a constable before fleeing, a police spokesman said.
BSF reinforcements sealed off the area of the attack at the village of Chancer, 70 kilometers south of the Himalayan region's summer capital Srinagar, and launched a manhunt for the attackers.
In another attack, two Islamic rebels were killed by Indian troops in the Surankote area of Poonch district, 210 kilometres west of Indian Kashmir's winter capital Jammu.
Soldiers cordoned off an area in Ponikateer village, where the militants were hiding, after receiving a tip-off, another police spokesman said.
Both the militants were Pakistani nationals and belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said, referring to a militant group that India says was behind an attack on its parliament complex in December.
A large amount of arms and ammunition was recovered from the dead rebels, the spokesman added.
Overnight, a teenaged girl was killed and 27 other people, including six policemen, were injured in a grenade blast triggered by suspected militants in Rajouri town, 380 kilometers from Srinagar.
Police said militants lobbed a hand grenade at police escorting bank vehicles.
AFP