Four Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir gun battle
Two militants, civilian among casualties in gun fight in Pulwama
Four Indian soldiers, including an officer, two militants, and a civilian were killed in a gun battle in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Monday morning.
Col. Rajesh Kalia, the spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Defense in Kashmir, confirmed the military casualties.
According to the police, the two slain militants were involved in the planning of the car bombing attack last week that killed at least 44 Indian paramilitary personnel.
The civilian killed was reportedly the owner of the house where militants were hiding.
Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.
Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.
Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.
