JAMMU, Feb 12 (1999) – Three Indian soldiers and three Moslem separatists were killed on Friday in a fierce gunbattle in India’s restive Jammu and Kashmir state, police said.
The fighting took place in the morning at Thatri in the Himalayan state’s Moslem-majority Doda district, some 173 km (108 miles) east of Jammu, the winter capital.
Police said one of the separatists killed was Mohammed Din Gujjar, alleged mastermind of the slaughter of 38 Hindus in last August in Chamba in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh state.
No civilians were hurt in the crossfire, police said. Two assault rifles and four hand grenades were recovered from the slain separatists, they said.
In another incident in the state on Friday, a bomb exploded near the border village of Pargwal, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Jammu.
Police said the explosive device was attached to an electricity transformer, which was destroyed. No one was reported killed.
Nearly a dozen militant groups are fighting for Kashmir’s independence or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan.
India, which controls two-thirds of Kashmir, accuses Pakistan of arming and training separatist guerrillas. Pakistan, which rules the remaining one-third, says it only provides political and diplomatic support.
