Indian officials say that four Indian soldiers were killed and at least six others were injured in a battle with militants in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

A senior police officer in the area told the press on Monday, July 8 (Changash 18), on the condition of anonymity, that the fighting started when the militants ambushed the army vehicles in the Malhar area of ​​Jammu.

This was the second attack by militants on Indian troops in the disputed area in the last two days.
The police said that two Indian soldiers and six suspected militants were killed in two separate battles in the villages of Kulgam district on Sunday, July 7.

The Indian Army did not say which group the militants belonged to, but for years, militants in this area have been fighting for independence from India or joining Pakistan.

Tens of thousands of insurgents, soldiers and civilians have been killed in these wars that have been going on since 1989.

Both India and Pakistan claim ownership of Kashmir and have fought three times over this region since 1947, when both of them were freed.

In the same month of last June, gunmen attacked a bus of Hindus who were returning from a shrine to their areas, killing nine people and injuring dozens more.

With the independence of India and Pakistan from Britain in 1947, Kashmir was divided between the two countries. The then Hindu Maharaja of Kashmir decided to join India.

Initially, New Delhi controlled only foreign affairs, currency, and communications in Kashmir, but over the decades, the cooperation of pro-India leaders in the region allowed New Delhi to expand its sovereignty.

More than half a million Indian troops have been deployed in the region since 1989 to control the insurgency.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting militants, but Islamabad rejects these accusations and says that it only supports the struggle for Kashmir’s right to independence.