12 militants, army officer killed in Kashmir clash

Indian army soldiers stand near the covered bodies of suspected militants killed during a gun battle, at a camp in Gurez, some 160 kms north of Srinagar yesterday.Photo: AFP

An Indian army lieutenant and a dozen suspected militants were killed in a clash along the de facto border that splits Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the army said.
The fighting erupted in the northern Gurez district when a group of "heavily-armed militants tried to infiltrate" Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani zone of the divided Muslim-majority territory, the army said.
"So far a dozen militants have been killed in the ongoing operation," Indian army spokesman JS Brar told AFP.
He said an army lieutenant was also killed and two soldiers injured during "heavy exchange of fire" that started early Saturday.
"By killing the militants we have foiled a major attempt by militants to enter (Indian) Kashmir," Brar said.
He said six bodies had been recovered, while six others were lying in a stream, just 20 metres from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
"We are trying to retrieve those bodies but the flow of water is too heavy," Brar said, terming the clash as "one of the fiercest in recent years."
India says it regularly intercepts Islamist rebels sneaking into Indian Kashmir to fight New Delhi's rule in the scenic Himalayan region.
Pakistan denies Indian allegations it helps the insurgents cross into Indian Kashmir.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which each country holds in part but claims in full.
The insurgency against New Delhi's rule has left more than 47,000 people dead since 1989, according to an official count.
The violence has sharply decreased since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004. But over the past month, the Indian army has accused militants of making repeated bids to infiltrate.