India: 8 combatants and 6 civilians die in clashes with army in Kashmir
Three local rebels were killed in a gunbattle with Indian government forces in disputed Kashmir on Sunday, and six civilians were killed in an explosion at the site after the fighting was over, officials and residents said.
Meanwhile, three Indian army soldiers and two suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle along the highly militarized line of control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
The fighting erupted after troops cordoned off a village in the southern Kulgam area on a tip that rebels were hiding there, India’s military said. The exchange lasted for several hours, and three militants were killed and two soldiers injured, the military said.
Residents said soldiers blasted a civilian home with explosives while fighting the rebels, a common charge by Kashmiris who deeply resent the Indian army’s presence.