6 rebels, 2 Indian soldiers killed in fierce forest clash in restive Indian Kashmir

Soldiers, rebels battle in Indian Kashmir; 8 dead

SRINAGAR, India — A fierce gunbattle between Muslim rebels and Indian security forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir has killed six insurgents and two soldiers, an army spokesman said Friday.

Fighting erupted Thursday night in densely forested Rafiabad — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir’s main city — after army troops and police received information about the presence of militants in the area, Col. Vineet Sood said.

Six militants and two soldiers died, and searches were continuing despite heavy rains, Sood told The Associated Press.

In a telephone call Friday to Current New Service, a local news agency, a man who identified himself as a spokesman for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, Kashmir’s biggest rebel group, said four of the guerrillas killed belonged to his group.

The man, who gave his name as Ahsan Ilahi, told the news agency three soldiers were killed in the fighting.

Hezb-ul Mujahedeen is one of a dozen rebel groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region.

Both India and Pakistan claim all of Kashmir and have fought two wars over it. The rebels have fought since 1989 for the Indian-controlled portion’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.

India accuses Pakistan of funding and training militants in the Pakistani-held portion of Kashmir, and facilitating their entry into Indian Kashmir to fight government forces.

Islamabad denies that, saying it only gives moral and diplomatic support to the rebels.

More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.

On Wednesday, rebels ambushed an army patrol in the restive region, killing two soldiers.