Kashmir fighters kill two Indian soldiers

SRINAGAR: Freedom fighters in Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir have killed two soldiers in an attack in the disputed region’s main city, the Indian army said. Colonel Rajesh Kalia, an Indian army spokesman, said the fighters sprayed bullets at an army patrol on the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday, foreign media reported. The freedom fighters have been fighting against the Indian rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the goal that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Tensions in the disputed Himalayan region have escalated since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government scrapped Kashmir’s special status in August 2019, annulled its separate constitution, split the region into two federal territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – and subsequently removed inherited protections on land and jobs. The move triggered widespread anger and economic ruin amid a harsh security clampdown and communications blackout.