Police: 2 Indian paramilitary soldiers killed in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India – Three insurgents riding in a car fired at a patrol of Indian paramilitary soldiers Friday at a marketplace in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing two, police said.

A Central Reserve Police Force soldier and a civilian passerby were wounded in the rebel attack in Achabal in south Kashmir, said top police officer S.P. Vaid.

Police cordoned off the area and began searching for the assailants, who fled after spraying bullets. The area is nearly 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, a Himalayan territory divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety.

Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989, demanding that the territory be given independence or merged with Pakistan.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.