Indian army says 3 rebels attack army camp in Kashmir and are killed in gunbattle

SRINAGAR, India – Three heavily armed rebels stormed an army camp in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Wednesday and were killed in a fierce gunbattle with soldiers, the army said.

A civilian worker with the army also was killed and an army officer was wounded in the fighting, which took place close to the heavily militarized line of control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, said another officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

He said the militants used grenades and gunfire to attack the camp, located about 150 kilometres (95 miles) northwest of Indian Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar. The camp houses the Indian army’s headquarters in the frontier region.

A reinforcement of army commandos led the counterassault, and the intense exchange of gunfire left some barracks and a vehicle on fire, the officer said.

There was no independent confirmation of the incident. No rebel group fighting Indian rule immediately issued any statement.

There also was no confirmation of an earlier report that an oil depot inside the camp had caught fire during the incident.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and Indian military crackdown.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over their competing claims to Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947, and each country administers part of the region.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and funding the rebels. Islamabad denies the accusation and says it provides only moral and diplomatic support to separatists.