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J&K encounter toll rises to 24: Indian Army
SRINAGAR: Troops in Kashmir shot dead five militants on Tuesday, bringing the death toll on both sides from several days of forest gunbattles to 24, the army said. An army statement said eight soldiers and 16 rebels have so far died in the fighting in Kupwara district close to the Line of Control that divides the Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of the Himalayan region.

The gunfights were first reported on Saturday and followed a cross-border incident involving Indian and Pakistani troops that left one Indian soldier injured.
The Pakistani were providing covering fire for infiltrating terrorists
Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control in 2003 and have since held slow-moving peace negotiations. But the peace process ground to a halt following November's Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai that India has blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The funeral of one of the Indian troops killed in the fighting was also held on Tuesday, with the event well-attended, witnesses said, even though it is rare for residents of Kashmir to honour those fighting for India. The dead soldier, a Shiite Muslim from a village northeast of Srinagar, died on Monday during heavy exchange of fire with rebels.
Posted by: john frum 2009-03-24
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=265893