Gulshan Begum grieves holding her sons Rihan Zahhor, right and Arhan Zahoor, during the funeral of her husband Zahoor Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle in Boniyar, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
3 Indian soldiers and 2 civilians are killed in an alleged rebel ambush in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Three Indian soldiers and their two civilian porters were killed in a rebel ambush in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Friday.
Police said rebels sprayed bullets at an army vehicle carrying troops close to the highly militarized line of control near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night. The de facto frontier divides the disputed Kashmir between India and Pakistan, which they both claim in its entirety.
Two soldiers and two civilians working as porters with the Indian military were killed and three other soldiers were wounded, police said. One soldier later died at a hospital, they said. The military said it was a brief firefight and gave no other details.
There was no independent confirmation of the incident.
Unidentified relatives grieve as they attend the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle carrying troops close to the highly militarized line of control near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Militants in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Unidentified relative comforts wailing wife of Mushtaq Ahmad, center, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle carrying troops close to the highly militarized line of control near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night, during his funeral in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Neighbors and relatives carry the coffin containing body of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle carrying troops close to the highly militarized line of control near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night, during his funeral in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Neighbors and relatives carry the coffin of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle, during his funeral in Nowshera village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Kashmiri villagers watch the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle carrying troops close to the highly militarized line of control near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Unidentified relative stands during the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle carrying troops close to the highly militarized line of control near the resort town of Gulmarg on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Kashmiri villagers watch the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Unidentified relative comforts wailing wife of Mushtaq Ahmad, center, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle on Thursday night, during his funeral in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Kashmiri village woman tend to an unconscious relative of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle on Thursday night, during his funeral in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Indian army soldiers stands guard during the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Kashmiri villagers watch the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)Kashmiri villagers watch from the window of a residential house the funeral of Mushtaq Ahmad, an army porter who was among those killed in a rebel ambush on an army vehicle on Thursday night, in Nowshera village north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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