Indian police officer killed in Kashmir’s south

By Zahid Rafiq</p> <p>SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – A senior police official was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s south on Sunday, police said.</p> <p>Manoj Pandita, spokesman of the police, confirmed the killing of Aman Kumar, a deputy superintendent of police, in the gun battle in Kulgam district.</p> <p>In a statement, Pandita said Kumar had been heading the police’s anti-militancy wing Special Operations Group in the district for over one and a half year.</p> <p>&quot;It is an unfortunate incident, in which we have lost a brave officer. He was a fighter and he led Sunday's operation himself,” said Dilbag Singh, police chief in the region.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to police, a joint group of Indian forces — including the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Special Operations Group of the police — carried out an operation against the militants after receiving information about the presence of militants in Turigam village.</p> <p> </p> <p>Meanwhile, Indian media reported that two militants and another army soldier were also killed in the gun battle, but there has been no official confirmation in this regard.</p> <p>The police said that the gun battle is still going on.</p> <p>Kashmir witnessed a complete shutdown on Sunday as part of a protest against the arrests of Kashmiri leaders by Indian forces.</p> <p> </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.