SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir
At least two civilians were killed in a suspected militant attack in southern Kashmir on Tuesday, a police official said.
The incident happened in Islamabad district when suspected militants tossed a grenade at a meeting between villagers and government officials.
Local police officer Altaf Khan told Anadolu Agency that the attack occurred when the government officials were “listening to the grievances of villagers” in Badasgam village of the insurgency-hit district, more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir.
One of the deceased was identified as village head, Rafiq Shah.
Two people have been injured in the attack, Khan added.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, several people were injured in a grenade blast near Kashmir University in Srinagar, news agency PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the Kashmir Police claimed to have killed two militants in an encounter at Rajpora area of Pulwama district late on Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the police said the militants were local residents and identified as Ahmad Sheikh and Ahmad Rather.
The incidents come a day after reports poured in that the Indian government has deployed special forces to counter militancy in the Muslim majority region.
Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been facing severe lockdown since Aug. 5, 2019, when the Indian government scrapped the special status, which allowed citizens to enact their own laws, of the region.
The provisions also protected the region’s citizenship law, which barred outsiders from settling in or owning land in the territory.
Tensions have since been high in the region with key leaders put in prison or under house arrest. Internet services have also been clamped down in the Himalayan state.
India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir.
Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
*Riyaz ul Khaliq contributed to the story from Ankara
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