Nine freedom fighters, 3 soldiers killed in IOK gun battle

SRINAGAR: Nine freedom fighters and three soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in the Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK), officials said Sunday, as authorities enforced a lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The IOK has already been under a long-running curfew imposed to quell unrest as New Delhi scrapped the Himalayan valley´s semi-autonomous status on August 5.

Indian army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said five freedom fighters were killed early Sunday in the northern Keran area close to the Line of Control (LoC).

The clashes also left three soldiers dead and critically injured several more, he said in a brief statement.

The fighting came within 24 hours of another gun battle between freedom fighters and government forces in the southern Kulgam area that left four dead.

Police said all four were militants from the local area. Kashmir has waged a three-decade-long indigenous armed struggle against the Indian rule with tens of thousands of lives, mostly civilians, lost in the conflict.