Indian troops shot dead three suspected militants in Kashmir following an attack on a military convoy and an ambulance, the army reported on Tuesday. The attack took place in the early hours of Monday in the Akhnoor area, near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, has seen a prolonged insurgency. Soldiers launched a manhunt after gunmen fired on the convoy, resulting in a confrontation in which three militants were killed. "An intense firefight unfolded this morning, marking a significant victory for our forces," stated the army's White Knight Corps.
The region has seen a surge in violence, with at least 500,000 Indian troops deployed to counter the insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1989. Earlier this month, gunmen killed seven people near a construction site for a strategic tunnel in Ladakh, close to the Chinese border, while another ambush on Friday left five dead, including three soldiers.
New Delhi frequently accuses Pakistan of supporting militants, a claim Islamabad denies. The Indian government has reported over 720 militants killed since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy. In early October, the region held its first elections since 2014, marking a milestone for its 12 million residents.
