Soldier killed in held Kashmir clashes

SRINAGAR: Four suspected militants and a soldier were killed in three separate clashes on Monday in held Kashmir, authorities said.
Government forces acting on a tip-off trapped three suspected insurgents in an alley and killed them near the town of Ashmuqam, 80 kilometres south of the main city of Srinagar.The joint team of army, paramilitaries and police shot the alleged militants after coming under fire from them, a police statement said. “The encounter ended with the elimination of three militants of HM (Hizbul Mujahideen) outfit,” it said, adding they were all locals.
In a separate incident, a suspected militant was killed at Maniga, near the frontier town of Kupwara in the north of the Himalayan territory, during an army search of the forested area.Police Superintendent Aijaz Ahmed said government forces were hunting a group who killed a special forces officer last week and injured two other soldiers.
One militant was killed during the operation and a search for others was continuing, Ahmed told AFP. A soldier died in the early morning after his patrol came under fire in the Naoshera sector near the heavily militarised Line of Control. “In the ensuing firefight one soldier was injured and died while being evacuated to a military hospital,” said defence spokesman Manish Mehta.