SRINAGAR: Two soldiers and two suspected separatists were killed overnight in a gunbattle in Indian-Occupied Kashmir near the disputed territory's de facto border with Pakistan, the Indian army claimed Saturday.
Colonel N. N. Joshi said the firefight occurred in Naugam sector, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of the main city of Srinagar.
More than 50 people have been killed and thousands injured in weeks of unrest in the Occupied Kashmir, sparked by the death on July 8 of popular rebel commander Burhan Wani in a firefight with government forces.
Nearly 100 protesters and police were injured in clashes Friday as authorities sought to block a rally called by separatist groups opposed to Indian rule, officials said.
A curfew continued to be in force across large parts of the territory for the 22nd consecutive day Saturday. Schools and businesses remained shut and internet services suspended, although mobile networks have been partially restored.
Several separatist groups, including Wani's Hizbul Mujahideen, have been fighting for decades an estimated 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the restive territory, demanding independence for the region or its merger with Pakistan.
Tens of thousands, most civilians, have died in the fighting since 1989 when the armed rebellion against Indian rule of the Himalayan territory began.
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