2 Indian army soldiers killed in rebel attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Rebel attack kills 2 Indian soldiers in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India — Suspected Muslim rebels ambushed army soldiers early Friday in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, killing two troops, an official said.

Soldiers, acting on an intelligence tip, launched a search operation Thursday night in a village in the remote and mountainous Kishtwar region, about 105 miles (170 kilometers) southeast of Indian Kashmir’s main city Srinagar, said Lt. Col. Biplab Nath, an Indian army spokesman.

As the soldiers entered the area early Friday militants opened fire, triggering a fierce gunbattle in which two soldiers were killed, Nath said.

The area was sealed off and troops were hunting down the attackers but rain was hampering the operation.

Violence has risen in Indian Kashmir recently after years of declining attacks. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the disputed majority Muslim region, where more than a dozen rebel groups have fought for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan since 1989.