ISLAMABAD – Two Kashmiri freedom fighters, including a commander, weremartyred by Indian government forces during a 12-hour gun battle inoccupied Kashmir’s capital on Tuesday, authorities said.
Such clashes are a common occurrence in the occupied territory but rare inSrinagar, and the siege marked the first shootout in the city’s centre fortwo years.
Explosions and gunshots echoed through the densely populated neighbourhood,with streets largely empty as a result of a coronavirus lockdown that haskept most residents to their homes.
Paramilitary troops and police exchanged fire with the freedom fightersafter cordoning off part of the area.
Five homes were reduced to rubble during the battle and 10 others wereseverely damaged, residents told *AFP*.
Junaid Ahmed Sehrai, a commander of the largest Kashmiri freedom fightersgroup Hizbul Mujahideen and the son of a top separatist leader, wasmartyred in the clash, police said in a statement.
Another Hizbul Mujahideen member was also martyred and four Indian policeofficers were wounded, the statement said.
Most mobile voice and internet services were cut across the city as thefighting kicked off and have yet to be restored.
Locals poured onto the streets as news of the killings spread, to hurlstones at Indian forces, who fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to dispersethem. No injuries were reported.
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The deaths came two weeks after Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo and aclose aide were martyred by government forces in the southern Kashmirvalley during a two-day gun battle.
Counterinsurgency operations in India-occupied Kashmir have been stepped upduring the coronavirus lockdown, while freedom fighters have continued tofight government forces.
Unlike in the past, authorities now bury the deceased freedom fighters faraway from their homes in unpopulated frontier areas to stop large funeralsfrom being held.
Police said 73 freedom fighters had been martyred in Kashmir this year,many of them during the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Kashmiri freedom fighters have fought for decades for the India-occupiedregion’s independence. The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostlycivilians, since 1989.
India has more than 900,000 troops stationed in occupied Kashmir. -APP/AFP
