WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Kashmir fighting kills 2 rebels, 1 Indian officer
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-09 15:27

SRINAGAR, India: Islamic rebels allegedly sneaked into India's portion of Kashmir from Pakistan early Wednesday sparking a gunbattle with border forces that left an Indian army officer and two suspected militants dead.

An army patrol intercepted the suspected insurgents in Mendhar sector close to the cease-fire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, said Col. Biplab Nath, an Indian army spokesman.

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Mendhar lies nearly 110 miles (175 kilometers) southwest of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.

The incident could not be independently verified and there was no word from any of the dozen rebel groups that have fought Indian rule in Kashmir for two decades.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir since they gained independence from Britain in 1947. Both claim the region in its entirety.

The insurgency and Indian crackdown have killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.

India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the insurgents and pushing them into the Indian portion of Kashmir to attack government forces and other targets. Islamabad denies the charge and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support to the rebels demanding Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan.