- Title: India says it foils attack on Kashmir base, killing three militants
- Date: 6th October 2016
- Summary: PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING DAMAGE ON NEWSPAPER PAGE
- Embargoed: 20th October 2016 07:29
- Keywords: Line of Control attack Kashmir border militant villagers army base India Pakistan
- Location: HANDWARA / RAJOURI / AKHNOOR / JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA
- City: HANDWARA / RAJOURI / AKHNOOR / JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA00252V9B9H
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
Indian soldiers shot dead three suspected militants who tried to raid an army base in northern Kashmir on Thursday (October 6), police said, the latest in a wave of attacks that has raised tensions with neighboring Pakistan.
The three men were found in an orchard near the army base in Kupwara district near the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.
A police official said they engaged in heavy firing with soldiers before retreating from the base, the second to be attacked in days in northern Kashmir.
The attack came as India and Pakistan exchanged more gunfire across the de facto border in Kashmir, despite a 2003 ceasefire, setting off panic among residents in border areas.
"Over the last two days there has been continuous heavy firing," one villager, Sumit, said, adding that the the Pakistani army had been firing 120mm mortar shells towards them. "This is the first heavy firing we have witnessed. People's lives are at stake, some have migrated while others are living in terror."
"Our land is getting spoiled. It was the main source of my food and earning. We are facing all being lost, I am scared," added another villager, Sunita Devi. "Where will we ill-fated people go?"
Several families have fled the area.
"The government has not given a thought to people like us," said one of the displaced person, Soni.
Tensions have escalated sharply since last week, when India announced its special forces had carried out a strike against militants camped on the Pakistan side of Kashmir and inflicted significant casualties.
Pakistan denied such a strike had taken place but vowed to retaliate against any Indian aggression.
The latest round of tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors over Kashmir began after militants killed 19 soldiers in an army camp, the deadliest toll in nearly two decades.
India said the attackers had come from Pakistan but Islamabad demanded credible proof.
On Wednesday (October 5) night, militants from Pakistan unsuccessfully tried to breach the Line of Control at two points in the Nowgam sector and one at Rampur, an Indian army spokesman said.
Pakistan denies sending fighters to Kashmir but says it gives moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their 27-year struggle for self-determination. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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