India soldier killed, labourers wounded in Kashmir attacks

Rebel attack in India-administered Kashmir’s main Srinagar city leaves one soldier dead, while four workers are wounded in two separate attacks, police say.

Indian soldiers carry the body of their colleague outside a hospital after suspected rebels killed him and wounded another one in Srinagar.
AP

Indian soldiers carry the body of their colleague outside a hospital after suspected rebels killed him and wounded another one in Srinagar.

An Indian paramilitary soldier has been killed and another wounded in a rebel attack in India-administered Kashmir's main city, while four labourers were wounded in two separate attacks elsewhere in the disputed Himalayan region, police said.

Two rebels on a motorbike opened fire at paramilitary troops patrolling in the main business centre of Srinagar on Monday, police said. The injured soldiers were taken to a hospital, where one was declared dead.

Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a search for the militants.

Attackers also fired at two Indian workers in the southern Pulwama district, leaving them wounded, police said. Hours earlier, two labourers were injured late on Sunday in a gunfire attack in Pulwama.

Police blamed rebels fighting against Indian rule for the string of attacks. There was no independent confirmation of the incidents.

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Armed conflict

Both India and Pakistan claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety.

Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels' goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. 

Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and Indian forces have been killed in the conflict.

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