World | India
7 killed as army clashes with rebels in Kashmir
Indian forces and suspected rebels clashed on Sunday in two separate incidents in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing seven people, including two civilians and a news photographer.
- AP
- Published: 23:52 May 11, 2008
Srinagar: Indian forces and suspected rebels clashed on Sunday in two separate incidents in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing seven people, including two civilians and a news photographer, the army said.
A soldier and two gunmen were also killed in yesterday's fighting, and one of the gunbattles continued to rage with six suspected rebels holed up in a house, Indian army spokesman Lt Col S.D. Goswami said.
In the first clash, soldiers confronted a group of gunmen who had apparently infiltrated into the area across the de facto border with Pakistan, Goswami said.
They were found in the village of Kehli Mandi, about 350km south of Srinagar. As soldiers approached, the gunmen opened fire, hitting a house, killing two civilians inside and wounding two others, he said.
Holed up
The army believed six militants were still holed up in a house in the village, and the two sides were still trading fire hours later, Goswami said.
In a second clash, two suspected rebels were killed in a clash with army and police in the forest area of Darsun, about 120km north of Srinagar, said Vijay Kumar, the area police chief.
Kumar said the Indian forces suffered no casualties.
There was no immediate word from any of the more than a dozen rebel groups that have been fighting since 1989 for independence from mainly Hindu India or a union with Muslim-majority Pakistan, which controls the other half of Kashmir.
Samba, Jammu and Kashmir (IANS) Photojournalist Ashok Sodhi ran ahead of his colleagues and ignored police warnings as he ventured forth to capture pictures of the house where rebels were holed up, firing at security forces yesterday morning. Sodhi died in the exchange of fire.
"He ignored all warnings and stood right in front of the house from where the hail of bullets was coming," recalled Faheem Tak, a reporter with a local TV channel.
First attack in six years
Sodhi had reached the site in Samba sector, 45km from Jammu, with fellow photojournalists as the plains witnessed their first rebel attack after a gap of 6 years.
The photographer lifted his camera to take a photo, and then came a bullet piercing his forehead.
"That was all," said one of his colleagues who was behind him, describing the death of the 45-year-old who worked for Daily Excelsior, a local English daily.
Frantic attempts
A shower of bullets followed. His colleagues made frantic attempts to reach him, but they were futile as the rain of bullets continued.
It was Tak who finally managed to edge towards Sodhi.
He lifted him, removed his camera from his shoulder and placed him in a bulletproof vehicle with the help of policemen.
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