SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least five militants and an Indian air force (IAF) commando were killed while a trooper wounded on Saturday in an ongoing fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, army officials said.
The gunfight erupted at village Hajin in Bandipora, about 32 km north of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"In an intense gunfight today in Hajin, Bandiora, five militants were killed," Col Rajesh Kalia, Indian army spokesperson told Xinhua. "While fighting militants, one IAF garud was killed and an army trooper injured."
The gunfight triggered after joint contingents of Indian military, paramilitary and police cordoned off the area on specific intelligence inputs about presence of militants.
According to officials, the slain IAF commando was part of the joint team that took on militants in the village.
Last month two militants and two IAF personnel were killed in a similar gunfight in the village.
A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in Indian- controlled Kashmir since 1989. The gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently across the region.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
