4 Indian forces, 1 civilian killed in Kashmir: Police

By Zahid Rafiq</p> <p>SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – Four personnel of Indian armed forces were killed in a gun battle with militants on Friday in Kashmir’s north, police said.</p> <p>“Two police personnel, two CRPF [paramilitary] personnel and a civilian sustained critical injuries and later succumbed to their wounds,” the police said in a statement. </p> <p>The police identified the slain civilian as 21-year-old Wasim Ahmad Mir, who they said, was killed by a bullet injury in a nearby area.</p> <p>They did not confirm any casualties of the militants and said that the gunfight was still on. </p> <p>Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.</p> <p>Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars — in 1948, 1965 and 1971 — two of them over Kashmir.</p> <p>Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.</p> <p>Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.</p> <p>According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.