FOUR army soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with militants fighting against Indian rule in disputed Kashmir yesterday, officials said.

Another soldier and a civilian were wounded in the gunbattle, which came after a local Kashmiri militant rammed an explosive-laden van into a paramilitary convoy bus Thursday, killing at least 40 soldiers in the worst attack against Indian Government forces in Kashmir’s history.

The fighting erupted early yesterday after government forces surrounded a village in the southern Pulwama area on a tip that militants were hiding there, security officials said. As troops began conducting searches they came under heavy gunfire, leading to fatalities, police said.

The dead included an Indian army major. Both the injured civilian and the soldier were reported to be in critical condition. Police said the exchange of gunfire had stopped, but that troops were still conducting searches in the area.

Tensions have escalated in the already restive region since Thursday’s attack, which India blamed on Pakistan, promising a “jaw breaking response.” Pakistan warned India not to link it to the attack without an investigation, saying that it was part of New Delhi’s “known rhetoric and tactics” to divert global attention from human rights violations in Kashmir.

Archrivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the region in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the rebels’ demand that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country, while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

The anti-India unrest grew especially after a popular rebel leader was killed in 2016. The Indian Government responded with stepped-up anti-rebel operations, leading to more protests. (SD-Agencies)