Indian Army colonel killed in held Kashmir fighting

HELD SRINAGAR: An Indian army colonel was among four people killed in a gun battle with militants in held Kashmir on Tuesday, police said, the highest ranking military officer to die in fighting in the disputed Himalayan region in more than a year.The colonel was leading an operation against suspected militants in a village in south Kashmir´s Pulwama district when he came under fire. A policeman and two militants were also killed in the encounter, police superintendent Tahir Saleem said.Tens of thousands of troops are deployed in the Indian-occupied Kashmir to put down the insurgency. The officer killed on Tuesday was awarded the previous day a gallantry medal for his service in occupied Kashmir.