SRINAGAR: Two Indian soldiers and a suspected militant were killed in one of the longest ongoing gunfights in Indian-occupied Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.
The clashes began on August 1, when Indian forces cordoned off the Akhal forest area in Kulgam district after receiving intelligence about the presence of insurgents. Multiple search operations triggered repeated exchanges of fire, initially killing one militant and injuring seven soldiers, according to officials.
Over the past week, intermittent fighting continued as Indian troops deployed helicopters and drones to target an unspecified number of militants in the dense forest. On the eighth day of the operation, late Friday, two Indian soldiers were killed and two others wounded. The Indian army confirmed on social media that the operation was still underway.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the details of the incident.
Kashmir, claimed in full by both nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, remains a flashpoint. Armed resistance in Indian-occupied territory has persisted since 1989, with many Muslim Kashmiris seeking either unification with Pakistan or complete independence. India accuses Pakistan of backing the insurgency—an allegation Islamabad rejects—while many locals see the movement as a legitimate freedom struggle.
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Last month, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah linked three slain militants to a mass shooting in April that killed more than two dozen people, triggering one of the most serious India-Pakistan military confrontations in decades. That confrontation, which claimed dozens of lives, ended with a ceasefire on May 10 following U.S. mediation.
Tensions in the region have remained high since New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in 2019, accompanied by a sweeping crackdown on dissent, civil liberties, media freedoms, and intensified counterinsurgency operations.