The group blamed for the Mumbai attacks threatened on Wednesday more violence in disputed held Kashmir after a five-day gunbattle with troops that killed 25 people. "The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) will continue to render sacrifices for the freedom of Kashmir and coming days would prove costly for Indian forces," Abdullah Gaznavi, the spokesman for the group, told Reuters by telephone.
Indian occupation soldiers shot dead 17 suspected Mujahideen and eight occupation troops were killed in the gunbattle that began last Friday in Shamsbari forest near the Line of Control, a cease-fire line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, officials said. Brigadier Gurmit Singh, a senior Indian occupation army officer, said the militants were "well-trained, heavily armed and indoctrinated".
An LeT spokesman said the group had laid an ambush for Indian soldiers who were patrolling in the area. "India should understand the freedom struggle in Kashmir was not over, it is active with full force," Gaznavi said from an undisclosed location.
"The gun battle should be an eye opener for New Delhi." India was forced to send more troops to the Shamsbari forest area to end the firefight against the heavily armed militants. "The firefight has stopped, combing operations are still in progress and the entire area is being searched and sanitised," Singh said, adding maps and communication equipment had been found which indicated Pakistani involvement.