An Indian army officer and 11 militants were killed on Saturday in clashes along the Line of Control, local and foreign media quoted Indian defence spokesman Lt Col JS Brar as saying.
Brar claimed 11 suspected rebels were killed, but only six suspected rebels’ bodies were recovered. “A heavily armed group of infiltrating militants was spotted by the army troopers guarding the LoC in Gurez sector in north Kashmir,” he said.
“The intruders were challenged to surrender, but they started indiscriminate firing at the surrounding troops, triggering a gunfight which is still on,” the spokesman said, and confirmed that at least two army troops were also wounded in the clashes.
Brar said that the other five bodies were lost when they fell into a river during the fighting. There was no way to independently confirm the army’s report, and no Kashmiri militant groups have issued any statements. Attacks by militants have decreased in recent years, however Brar called Saturday skirmish this year’s biggest so far.
“By killing the militants we have foiled a major attempt by militants to enter (Indian-administered) Kashmir,” Brar said. India always claims it regularly intercepts militants sneaking into occupied territories to fight against India.
