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A group of suspected militants has stormed a paramilitary base near the Srinagar airport in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Three of the militants and an Indian soldier were killed Tuesday in the ensuing gun battle.
Security officials say the militants, dressed in army uniforms, hurled grenades and opened fire with automatic weapons on the base, which houses members of India’s Border Security Force. The base shares a common border wall with the airport.
Kashmir has been the center of a deadly tug-of-war between India and neighboring Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. The Muslim-majority Himalayan territory is divided between the nuclear-armed rivals, but both claim Kashmir in full.
Kashmir rebels have battled Indian forces for decades, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan. The rebels have staged a series of attacks on Indian security bases in recent months, including an attack in southern Kashmir in August that left eight security officials dead.
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of training and arming the rebels to carry out the cross-border attacks, a charge that Islamabad denies.
Source: Voice of America