At least four police officers and two suspected rebels have been killed during a gun battle in the India-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian army’s Rising Star Corps said on social media on Saturday morning that “relentless operations” had led to the “elimination of two terrorists” – a term usually referring to rebels opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir.

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“We have recovered bodies of three policemen and have also spotted the body of another cop and two militants lying in the forest,” the official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, told the Reuters news agency.

Arms and ammunition, including two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, empty shells and some magazines of assault rifles were also recovered from the area, the official said.

For decades, rebel groups have fought security officials in the region, resulting in a death toll in the thousands. But in recent years, violence has tapered off.

Still, according to government data, at least 14 security personnel were killed in such fighting in the first half of 2024, and at least 30 were killed in 2023.

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Latest clashes

The latest bout of fighting in the region began on Thursday in the forested area near the city of Kathua in the southern region of Jammu, near India’s border with Pakistan, after a police foot patrol was ambushed while searching for fighters, police chief Nalin Prabhat told reporters on Friday night.

The police chief accused the rebels, who were believed to have escaped a cordon by security forces four days earlier, of being from Pakistan, without elaborating.

“We will not sleep till we stop such activities of our neighbour,” Prabhat said, referring to Pakistan.

The Muslim-majority Kashmir has been at the core of more than 70 years of hostility between India and Pakistan, with both countries claiming complete control over the region.

But India regularly accuses Pakistan of pushing fighters across the heavily militarised unofficial border in Kashmir to attack Indian security forces.

However, Pakistan denies the allegations, saying it only supports Kashmir’s fight for self-determination.

Rebel groups have also been fighting for decades to demand either independence for Kashmir or to merge with Pakistan.

But since 2019, the region has bubbled in anger after New Delhi ended Kashmir’s semi-autonomy and curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms while at the same time increasing counterinsurgency operations.

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In November last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed the decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s partial autonomy after the territory’s newly elected lawmakers sought restoration.

“Only the constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar will operate in Kashmir … No power in the world can restore Article 370 (partial autonomy) in Kashmir,” Modi said, referring to one of the founding fathers of the Indian constitution.