Funeral of Kashmir separatists killed in gun battle
722 views · Published 20 December 2018 · 1:53 · Indexed 14 November 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(15 Dec 2018) Funerals were being held in disputed Kashmir on Saturday for rebels who were killed in a gunbattle with security forces that also left an Indian soldier dead. Mourners were also holding funerals for civilians who were killed when government forces fired at anti-India protesters in disputed Kashmir in the wake of the gunbattle. At least seven civilians were killed and over three-dozen injured in the clashes. Indian troops had surrounded a village in the southern Pulwama area on a tip that militants were hiding there, said a top police officer. As the soldiers began a search operation, militants jumped out of a civilian home and took positions in an apple orchard while firing at soldiers and counterinsurgency police, police said. Three rebels and a soldier were killed in the exchange of gunfire, and one soldier was wounded, police said. The gunbattle sparked the protests, with hundreds of people chanting pro-militant slogans and calling for an end to Indian rule over the Himalayan region. The protesters threw stones at troops to help the militants escape while government forces fired bullets, shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop them, killing seven and injuring at least 40 others, nine of them critically, police said. In recent years, mainly young Kashmiris have displayed open solidarity with the rebels and sought to protect them by engaging troops in street clashes during India's counterinsurgency operations despite repeated warnings from the Indian authorities. India and Pakistan each claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the rebel cause that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/28ddbb37155ea57f0da5a3e9b526a340
