• Six Dead In Three-Day Kashmir Gun Battle



    Indian special forces clear a government building - stormed by rebels - room by room as the tense battle enters its third day.
    11:44, UK,
    Monday 22 February 2016


    kashmir 2 1 736x414 - Six Dead in Three Day Kashmir Gun battle.
    Indian forces take up positions after rebels storm a government building






    Indian security forces have shelled a five-storey building in Kashmir to flush out a group of rebels during a standoff in which five soldiers and a civilian have been killed.Police launched a fresh offensive to clear the training institute in the town of Pampore, near Srinagar, as the gun battle entered its third day on Monday.A handful of rebels took refuge there after ambushing a convoy of paramilitary soldiers on Saturday.Around 100 civilian government employees were allowed to leave the building safely.It is believed three or four militants armed with grenades and machine guns were holed up inside the government building.Lieutenant General Satish Kumar Dua, India's top army officer in Kashmir, said special forces were clearing the building, room by room.


    kashmir 1 589x442 - Six Dead in Three Day Kashmir Gun battle.
    Indian forces shell a building in Pampore where rebels have taken refuge
    "Our main purpose is to make sure that we don't have any more casualties," he said."There's no hurry. We will take as long as it takes."Hundreds of local residents have ignored government orders to stay away from the site and have staged demonstrations on the streets in support of the militants, chanting slogans against Indian rule in Kashmir.Muslim separatists have been fighting Indian forces in the disputed region of Kashmir since 1989.India and Pakistan each administer a portion of Kashmir.The rival nations have fought two wars over Kashmir since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.