Two Kashmiri youth martyred in IOK gun battle

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SRINAGAR: Government forces in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK) killed two Kashmiri youths in a gun battle on Monday, police said, and a manhunt was under way for more fighters in the disputed Himalayan territory.

Soldiers and special counterinsurgency police forces surrounded a neighbourhood in Sopore, 45 kilometres from the main city of Srinagar, after receiving a tip-off that armed men were hiding there, triggering a firefight.

“Two were killed in an encounter with police,” police said in a statement, adding that a search was on for others suspected of being holed up in the area.

In recent months, the Indian army has stepped up its hunt for anti-India rebels in IOK after deploying thousands of additional troops for an offensive dubbed “Operation Allout”. At least 140 freedom fighters have been killed since the beginning of the year.

The latest gun battle came two days after Indian troops shot dead a rebel in southern Kulgam town, hours after freedom fighters separately ambushed a police bus in Srinagar, killing one officer and wounding seven.

Last month, Kashmiri fighters attacked a police base in southern Pulwama district, leaving eight police and three attackers dead. Liberation groups have for decades fought about 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding either independence or for the entire disputed region to be merged with Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.