*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - August 3, 2009: A gunbattle between Indian troops and suspected rebels in the forests of Indian Kashmir left one soldier and four rebels dead, an army spokesman said Sunday. 
Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol in Srinagar, India, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009. A gun battle between Indian troops and suspected rebels in Bangus, a forested area 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Srinagar in Indian Kashmir, left one soldier and four rebels dead, an army spokesman said Sunday.
The 10-hour gunbattle ended just before dawn in Bangus, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of the region's main city, Srinagar, said Lt. Col. J.S. Brar. The area is close to the Line of Control, as the frontier separating the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir is known.
The firefight started when an army patrol noticed a suspicious group of men and challenged them. The men opened fire, triggering the gunbattle, Brar said.
The fighting follows two shooting attacks by suspected rebels that killed an Indian policeman and critically wounded two paramilitary troops in Srinagar on Saturday.
Both India and Pakistan claim the Himalayan region of Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over it. More than a dozen guerrilla groups are fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its unification with Pakistan. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since violence began in 1989.
No rebel groups immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's gunbattle.
India accuses Pakistan of funding and training the militants in the Pakistani-controlled portion of Kashmir and facilitating their infiltration into the Indian-held side. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only gives moral and diplomatic support to the rebels.
Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol in Srinagar, India, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009. A gun battle between Indian troops and suspected rebels in Bangus, a forested area 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Srinagar in Indian Kashmir, left one soldier and four rebels dead, an army spokesman said Sunday.
The 10-hour gunbattle ended just before dawn in Bangus, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of the region's main city, Srinagar, said Lt. Col. J.S. Brar. The area is close to the Line of Control, as the frontier separating the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir is known.
The firefight started when an army patrol noticed a suspicious group of men and challenged them. The men opened fire, triggering the gunbattle, Brar said.
The fighting follows two shooting attacks by suspected rebels that killed an Indian policeman and critically wounded two paramilitary troops in Srinagar on Saturday.
Both India and Pakistan claim the Himalayan region of Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over it. More than a dozen guerrilla groups are fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its unification with Pakistan. More than 68,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since violence began in 1989.
No rebel groups immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's gunbattle.
India accuses Pakistan of funding and training the militants in the Pakistani-controlled portion of Kashmir and facilitating their infiltration into the Indian-held side. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only gives moral and diplomatic support to the rebels.
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