Fierce gun battles kill 12 in Kashmir

Indian troops take position during a gun battle in the disputed region of Kashmir. (file photo)

Officials in Indian-administered Kashmir say fresh militant attacks have left twelve people dead and in the disputed Himalayan valley.

Militants dressed in army uniforms first attacked a police station in the town of Hiranagar in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and later they stormed a military base in the nearby Samba district.

A senior Kashmir police official said, the militants then hijacked a truck and fled the scene.

“They abandoned the truck on the national highway and perhaps took another vehicle and carried out an attack on the army camp in Samba,” media outlets quoted senior Kashmir police official Rajesh Kumar as saying on Thursday.

The victims of the attacks include Indian policemen, army soldiers and civilians.

So far, there has been no claim of responsibility.

Authorities have deployed large police and paramilitary troops in most parts of Kashmir to prevent fresh street demonstrations.

Officials say the attackers had crossed over into India from Pakistan on Wednesday

India™s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condemned the attacks, saying violence will not derail efforts by India and Pakistan to resolve their problems.

Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after three years.

Indian troops are in constant clashes with the militants seeking independence in the area.

Kashmir lies at the heart of more than 60 years of hostility between India and Pakistan. Both neighbors claim the region in full but have partial control over it.

The neighbors agreed on a ceasefire in 2003 and launched a peace process the following year. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes, with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.

Thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir over the past 20 years.

JR/KA

Copyright: Press TV