Kashmir rebels start attacks on Indian policemen and para-military forces

Police chief says one policeman and two paramilitary officers killed in the second attack within a week.

Kashmir’s rebels have started attacks on security checkpoint in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least three policemen days after two security personnel were killed in the disputed Muslim-majority region’s main city, Srinagar.

Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar told Reuters news agency on Monday that Kashmiri rebels had attacked a security checkpoint north of Srinagar and killed one local policeman and two officers from the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

“We are developing leads and will neutralise the militants involved in the two attacks soon,” he said.

Kumar added that security forces averted a major attack on Monday morning when they recovered an improvised explosive device planted under a bridge in Pulwama district south of Srinagar.

This month, Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, marked one year since New Delhi revoked its limited autonomy, raising tensions in a region where anti-India sentiment runs high.

Since the August 5 decision, New Delhi has changed domicile law to allow Indians from other states to buy property in Kashmir – something which had not been allowed earlier. Most Kashmiris see the move by India’s Hindu-nationalist government as an attempt to bring demographic change in the Muslim-majority region.

In recent weeks, rebels have also intensified attacks on village council members and other leaders in Kashmir – many of whom belong to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the past three months, rebels have shot dead five such people, prompting police to move 1,000 village leaders to high-security zones.

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