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JAMMU, India, June 4 (AFP)-Three Indian soldiers and four Muslims were killed Sunday in a gun battle in Indian Kashmir, an Indian army spokesman said. "Indian soldiers came under heavy fire after they cordoned off a militant hideout in heavily-wooded Doaba Gali. Three soldiers died on the spot and one sustained bullet injuries," said the spokesman. He said the troops had cordoned off Doaba Gali, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the state winter capital Jammu, and a village in the Poonch district known for its militancy, the spokesperson said. "In the four-hour long gun battle that followed, Indian soldiers shot dead four rebels and wounded three others," he said. Meanwhile, the spokesman said the army had stepped up its offensive against Muslims in the southern twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. "Nine militants were killed in different encounters in the districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the last 48 hours," said the spokesperson, adding that eight Indian soldiers had also died in other incidents of separatist-linked violence across Kashmir. More than 25,000 people have died in Kashmir since 1989 in violence linked to the Islamic movement's drive for an Islamic state in the region. India accuses Pakistan, which administers part of divided Kashmir, of fermenting Islamic resistance in its territory. Islamabad denied the charge, but extends moral and diplomatic support to the unrest. |
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