SRINAGAR, Jan 31 (2004): Three Muslim rebels were killed in Indian Kashmir on Saturday when a fierce gunbattle broke out between troops and rebels hiding in a mosque, an army spokesman said.
Rebel violence has continued in the Himalayan region despite the recent thaw in relations between India and Pakistan who have fought two of their three wars over the region since independence from Britain in 1947.
Army spokesman Colonel Dharam Adhikari told Reuters the militants had fired with heavy weapons on soldiers surrounding the mosque.
“…all three terrorists were killed. A search is still going on,” he said. One soldier was seriously wounded.
The gunbattle happened as people in Kashmir were preparing to celebrate Islam’s second biggest festival, Eid-al-Adha.
Militants have sought refuge in the past in mosques across Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority state in predominantly Hindu India. Most other sieges have ended in bloodshed.
India and Pakistan have agreed to resume bilateral talks in February over disputes including Kashmir, where about a dozen rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces.
At least 40,000 people have been killed in the revolt. Separatists put the toll at more than 80,000.
