Three suspected militants were killed in a clash with Indian forces at the Line of Control, the makeshift border that separates Indian-controlled Kashmir from that controlled by Pakistan.
“An infiltration attempt was foiled in Uri, Uri sector, Baramulla, early today in a joint operation by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Intelligence Agencies,” the Indian Army said in a statement recorded by NDTV television.
A senior military commander said the shooting broke out when three or four people tried to enter Uri. The exchange of fire lasted about two hours and the military used rocket launchers and other types of weapons to “neutralize the terrorists.”
“Two terrorists were killed and a third was wounded and managed to escape thanks to Pakistan Army fire,” Indian Brigadier General PMS Dhillon said. “It is noteworthy that the Pakistan Army provided cover fire to the wounded terrorist and also fired on us,” he alleged.
Islamabad said the shooting prevented the recovery of a third body, which “represents a clear violation of the ceasefire at the Line of Control agreed in 2021.”
In another confrontation in Anantnag, the military had been surrounding a cave for four days where a group of suspected captured “terrorists” had taken refuge.
Pakistan and India have disputed the region of historic, Muslim-majority Kashmir since 1947 and have fought over it in two of the three wars they have fought since independence from the United Kingdom. There was a brief but intense military confrontation between the two nuclear powers in 1999 and a fragile ceasefire has existed since 2003.
