Indian paramilitary troopers carry the coffins during a wreath laying ceremony in the outskirts of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 2, 2019. Two paramilitary troopers and two policemen were killed Friday in a fierce gunfight with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Two paramilitary troopers and two policemen were killed Friday in a fierce gunfight with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.
A civilian was also killed during the clashes with government forces near the gunfight site.
The gunfight broke out early Friday at Khanan Babagund in Langate of frontier Kupwara district, about 71 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"Today two policemen and two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed while fighting militants in Langate-Handwara," a senior police official posted in Srinagar told Xinhua.
Reports said eight paramilitary troopers were also wounded in the stand-off.
So far no confirmation was available about militant casualties in the gunfight.
Meanwhile, while the gunfight was underway in the village, locals especially youth took to streets and threw stones and brickbats on government forces in a bid to help holed up militants break cordon and escape. However, police fired tear smoke shells and opened fire to disperse the irate protesters.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the psyche of majority of Kashmiris. Irate residents often took to roads and clash with police. The youth throw stones and brickbats on contingents of government forces, who respond by firing tear smoke shells, pellets and bullets, which often proves fatal.
Last week a senior police officer, a trooper and three militants were killed in a fierce gunfight in the region.
Militant groups opposing New Delhi's rule are engaged in a guerilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
