Ambush Near Indian Border Kills 66
Indian troops killed 66 Muslim militants in a weekend ambush in Jammu and Kashmir state near the border with Pakistan, the government said Monday. It was the biggest frontier clash in the 15-month separatist uprising.
Three militants were captured in the three-hour battle and others fled to Pakistan, government spokesman Ramamohan Rao reported. He said the militants carried automatic rifles and had been trained in guerrilla warfare in Pakistan.
Rao said the ambush took place early Sunday in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, where Islamic militants are fighting for independence from India. Kupwara is 430 miles northwest of New Delhi.
Rao said 66 assault rifles, five machine guns, four rocket launchers, nine pistols and 8,000 rounds of ammunition were seized.
India has often accused Pakistan of fanning Islamic secession in Jammu and Kashmir. Predominantly Muslim Pakistan denies it.
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