Indian trooper killed in militant ambush in Kashmir

Armed fighters have ambushed a contingent of Indian soldiers in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing one of them and wounding another.

Indian paramilitary spokesman Kishore Prasad said the soldiers came under attack on the outskirts of Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar on Wednesday.

Security sources said the attackers managed to flee the scene before policemen cordoned off the area.

No group or person has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but Kashmiri fighters have been blamed for such attacks in the past.

Indian troops are in constant clashes with the armed groups seeking independence in the area.

The government forces have responded by imposing curfews and restrictions on the movement of people.

This is while Indian troops are accused of grave human rights violations in the region.

Kashmir lies at the heart of more than 60 years of hostility between India and Pakistan.

The border clashes in recent months have threatened to torpedo recent overtures by the two countries to resume bilateral peace talks, which have been frozen since January.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947 — two of them over Kashmir.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by the UN-monitored Line of Control, but is claimed in full by both countries. Thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir over the past 20 years.