Two suspected rebels killed in Indian Kashmir gun battle

SRINAGAR, India: Government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir killed two suspected rebels in a gun battle on Monday, police said, and a manhunt was under way for more militants in the disputed Himalayan territory.
Soldiers and special counterinsurgency police forces surrounded a neighbourhood in Sopore, 45 km from the main city of Srinagar, after receiving a tip-off that armed militants were hiding there, triggering a firefight.
"Two militants 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 the Kashmir valley after deploying thousands of additional troops for an offensive dubbed "Operation Allout".
At least 140 suspected militants have been killed since the beginning of the year.
The latest gun battle came two days after Indian troops shot dead a suspected militant in southern Kulgam town, hours after militants separately ambushed a police bus in Srinagar, killing one officer and wounding seven.
Last month militants attacked a police base in southern Pulwama district, leaving eight police and three attackers dead.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full.
Rebel 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. — AFP