Thirteen suspected militants and an Indian soldier have been killed in one of the fiercest gun battles in recent years in Occupied Kashmir, military officials said Saturday. Major General V. Goudar said the "heavily-armed militants" and soldier had been killed in a week-long battle in a mountainous region north of Occupied Srinagar.
Goudar said the operation was conducted in "inhospitable, harsh and treacherous terrain" at an altitude up to 15,000 feet. Occupied Kashmir is in the grip of a 19-year insurgency against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 43,000 people dead by official count. Violence had declined since India and Pakistan launched a peace process in 2004 to resolve all pending disputes, including the one on Kashmir - a scenic region they hold in part but claim in full.