Shelling And Gun Battles Escalate In Kashmir

AFP: Kashmir braces for the worst as shelling, gun battles escalate

Indian forces on Friday fought battles with militants in Kashmir that left seven dead, whilst being dragged into fierce artillery barrages with Pakistani rivals along the troubled territory's angry ceasefire line.

At least one person was killed by mortar fire that has intensified in a worrying sign that Kashmir faces prolonged fallout from new hostilities between India and Pakistan.

Seven people were killed in the latest raids that have been staged virtually daily since an Islamist suicide bomber hit a convoy in the Himalayan region on February 14 killing 40 Indian paramilitaries.

Troops laid siege to a house in the Handwara district of India's only Muslim-majority state, believing they had killed two militants inside.

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WNU Editor: This is the new normal in Indian controlled Kashmir .... Five security personnel martyred in encounter with terrorist in Kupwara; civilian dies in clashes (Times of India).

Militants Attack Indian Military Base In India-Administered Kashmir

Al Jazeera: Kashmir gunfight enters second day, five soldiers dead

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir - A fierce gun battle at an army base in Jammu city of Indian-administered Kashmir has entered the second day leaving at least six people, including five soldiers, dead, officials said.

Official figures released on Sunday said that three attackers have been killed and 11 people have been wounded in the ongoing attack on Sunjuwan army camp.

Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat has also rushed to Jammu to monitor the situation.

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WNU Editor: These attacks are now happening almost everyday.

More News On Today's Militants Attack On An Indian Military Base In India-Administered Kashmir

Ten killed in attack on Indian army camp in Kashmir -- AFP
Nine killed as gun battle rages in army camp in Kashmir -- Reuters
Sunjwan attack: 3 terrorists among 9 killed; NIA officials arrive in J&K -- ZEE News
Army camp attack: 5 soldiers, 4 terrorists dead; NIA takes stock -- Asian Age/PTI
Militants Storm Indian Army Base, Killing Soldiers and a Civilian -- New York Times

The Fragile Peace Between India And Pakistan On The Kashmir Border Is Crumbling

BBC: Viewpoint: India and Pakistan up the ante on disputed border

The fragile peace along the de facto border dividing India and Pakistan in Kashmir is crumbling.

The Line of Control (LoC) is an un-demarcated 776km (482 mile) stretch of frontier that snakes across the mountains of the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

About 200,000 Indian and Pakistani soldiers face each other here, with rifles, machine guns, mortars and artillery at the ready. It is the most intensively manned and militarised border in the world.

Skirmishes between soldiers and artillery duels were a regular feature of the LoC until it fell silent in 2003, when former Indian prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf agreed to an unwritten peace.

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Update: Nose to Nose: Ceasefire Between India and Pakistan on Verge of Unraveling (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: Border skirmishes are now a daily occurrence. It will not take much for these skirmishes to explode into an all-out conflict.

Four Pakistani Soldiers Killed By Indian Shelling In Kashmir Across The Line Of Control (LoC)

Reuters: Four Pakistani soldiers killed in Indian shelling in Kashmir

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Four Pakistani soldiers were killed on Sunday when their army vehicle was struck by Indian shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) that separates parts of Kashmir held by both countries, the Pakistani military said.

India's ministry of defense Lieutenant Colonel Rajesh Kalia said he had no knowledge of the incident.

India and Pakistan have been in confrontation for decades across the LoC. The old ceasefire line runs through a region that both countries claim in full but rule in part.

Growing exchanges of fire in past months have frayed a 2003 truce.

"Indian troops targeted an army vehicle moving along LoC ... The vehicle fell into the river and four soldiers have drowned," Pakistan's military said in a statement.

One body has been recovered from the Neelum River and a search is underway for the remaining three, the military said.

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WNU editor: This follows on the heels of yesterday's incident .... Indian Soldiers Killed In Kashmir Amidst Growing Tensions With Pakistan And China (The Inquisitr).

More News On Four Pakistani Soldiers Killed By Indian Shelling In Kashmir Across The Line Of Control (LoC)

Pakistan accuses India of deadly cross-border attack -- Al Jazeera
4 soldiers drown in river after Indian attack, says Pakistani Army -- Economic Times
4 Pakistani troops killed along Kashmir Line of Control -- Anadolu Agency
Four soldiers killed as India hits Pakistan Army vehicle -- Pakistan Today

India Launches Attacks On Pakistani Army Posts In Kashmir

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full and have fought two wars over it (AFP Photo/TAUSEEF MUSTAFA)

Reuters: India says it attacked Pakistan army posts in divided Kashmir

India said on Tuesday it had attacked and damaged Pakistani army posts in Kashmir as it sought to prevent militants infiltrating from the Pakistani side of the disputed region, but Pakistan denied the assertion.

The Indian army said its troops had attacked positions in the Nowshera area, but it did not say when or how it had inflicted the damage. Reuters was unable to verify footage circulated on Indian television showing explosions in a hilly area.

"It is essential that the infiltrations along the Line of Control are controlled," Indian Major General Ashok Narula told reporters, referring to the disputed border between the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir, known as the LoC.

He also accused Pakistan of firing into villages on the Indian side of the frontier.

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More News On Reports That India Has Launched Attacks On Pakistani Army Posts In Kashmir

India fires on Pakistani military posts, army says -- AFP
Pakistani posts damaged in punitive fire assaults across LoC: Army -- Times of India
Massive Fire Assault On Pakistan Posts To Check Infiltration, Says Army, Releasing Video -- NDTV
Pak army says India destroying Pakistani posts along LoC in Naushera ‘false claim’ -- Hindustan Times
Pakistan army denies India destroyed its posts -- Times of India
Pakistan Army dismisses Indian claim of 'assault' on its post -- Economic Times

India Accuses Pakistan Of Killing And Mutilating 2 Indian Soldiers In Kashmir

Reuters: India says two soldiers killed, mutilated in Pakistani attack

Pakistani soldiers killed two members of an Indian army patrol on the de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region on Monday and then mutilated their bodies, the Indian army said, vowing to exact revenge.

Accusations that Pakistani forces have mutilated dead Indian soldiers have in the past outraged the Indian public and intensified demands for retribution.

The Indian army said Pakistani forces fired rockets and mortar bombs at two Indian posts on the Line of Control dividing Muslim-majority Kashmir between the two sides, in the Krishna Ghati sector.

"In a unsoldierly act by the Pak army the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated," the Indian army said in a statement, referring to Pakistani forces.

"Such despicable act of Pakistan army will be appropriately responded."

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More News On India Accusing Pakistan Of Killing And Mutilating 2 Indian Soldiers In Kashmir

India says Pakistan killed 2 Indian soldiers in Kashmir -- AP
India accuses Pakistan of killing and mutilating soldiers -- AFP
Pakistan Kills, Mutilates 2 Indian Soldiers, Army Vows Revenge -- NDTV
Pakistan mutilates bodies of two Indian jawans, Army vows retaliation -- Times of India
Army issues stern warning after Pakistan kills two Indian soldiers, mutilates their bodies -- India TV

India Conducts Surgical Military Strike On Targets In Pakistan Controlled Kashmir

New York Times: India Claims ‘Surgical Strikes’ Across Line of Control in Kashmir

NEW DELHI — India announced on Thursday that it had carried out early morning “surgical strikes” on terrorist camps in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, a step that risks escalating the conflict between the two nuclear powers.

However, Pakistan denied that a cross-border strike had taken place, saying that Indian troops had fired small arms across the Line of Control, killing two soldiers and injuring nine.

A senior Pakistani security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said that Pakistan would consider a cross-border strike by India an act of war.

The official warned that Pakistan could use tactical nuclear weapons in self-defense if India initiates a war.

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WNU Editor: Pakistan's reaction to ths attack has bee contradictory. On the one hand they are denying reports that such a surgical strike happened .... Pakistan says Indian claim of surgical strike in Kashmir an "illusion" (Reuters), on the other hand they are furious .... Pakistan furious after India launches Kashmir strikes (AFP). But bottom line .... this has a very real potential of spiralling into an all-out war.

More News On India Conducting Surgical Military Strikes On Targets In Pakistan Controlled Kashmir

Kashmir attack: India 'launches strikes against militants' -- BBC
India carries out 'surgical strikes' along Kashmir frontier -- AFP
India says hits Pakistan-based militants, escalating tensions -- Reuters
Nuclear-armed neighbors, both U.S. allies, exchange fire -- CBS/AP
India claims ‘surgical strikes’ against militants in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir -- Washington Post
India Says It Hit Terrorist Bases in Pakistan-Controlled Kashmir -- WSJ
India says troops cross Kashmir border to attack as crisis escalates -- The Guardian
India Says It Launched Strikes in Pakistan-Controlled Kashmir -- NBC
Kashmir dispute: Two Pakistani soldiers killed after clashes with India -- CNN
Indian commandos strike terrorists inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir -- Threat Matrix
Panic, disbelief in Kashmir as India makes surgical strikes -- Economic Times
Why Are Pakistan And India Fighting? Nuclear War Threatened After Kashmir Attack At Uri Military Base -- IBTimes
Is India Capable of a Surgical Strike in Pakistan Controlled Kashmir? -- The Diplomat

Indian - Pakistan Tensions Over Kashmir Is Raising Fears Of A Military Conflict Exploding Between The Two Countries

Time: A Terrorist Attack in Kashmir Sparks Fears of a Military Conflict Between India and Pakistan

The attack comes during a particularly fraught period for the disputed region

India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh called neighboring Pakistan a “terrorist state” Sunday, in response to an attack by suspected militants in the conflict-wrought border state of Kashmir that killed 17 Indian soldiers.

A senior official from the Indian Army said the attack on Sunday in the border town of Uri, on the Indian side of Kashmir, fit the modus operandi of the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Indian Express newspaper reported. He added that weapons recovered from the four gunmen killed in the attack — including grenade launchers and AK-47 rifles — bore Pakistan markings.

Singh, who was scheduled to visit Russia and the United States this week, said on Twitter that he had canceled the trips following the attack. “I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan’s continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups,” he added.

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WNU Editor: Gun battles have now resumed between India and Pakistan troops on the Kashmir border .... Indian, Pakistani troops exchange fire in Kashmir (Yahoo News).

More News On The Growing Tensions Between India And Pakistan And The Ongoing Violence In Kashmir

Deadly attack in Indian Kashmir renews ‘war of words’ with rival Pakistan -- Washington Post
Kashmir violence: 11 killed as Indian forces battle 'militants' -- BBC
Indian soldiers kill suspected militants in clashes at Kashmir frontier -- Reuters
India Soldiers Battle Suspected Militants in Kashmir -- AP
India backs off major retaliation over Kashmir raid, for now -- Reuters
Kashmir attack: Pakistan hits back at India accusations -- BBC
How Indian and Pakistani media are covering Kashmir unrest -- DW
Retaliation or restraint? India has limited options over Kashmir attack -- Michael Safi, The Guardian

Latest Violence On The Kashmir Border Between Pakistan And India Worst In 11 Years

Kashmir Clashes Continue as India, Pakistan Trade Blame -- Voice of America

SIALKOT, PAKISTAN - Pakistan and India have continued to exchange heavy gun and mortar fire along their disputed Kashmir border, rendering almost non-existent a mutual cease-fire in the Himalayan region that has largely held since 2003. At least 24 civilians have died while thousands fled to safety on both sides since the violence broke out more than a week ago.

The deadly clashes are taking place along a densely populated 200-kilomter border referred to as the “working boundary” that separates Pakistan’s Punjab province from the Indian-controlled portion of the divided Kashmir region.

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More News On The Latest Violence On The Kashmir Border Between Pakistan And India

India and Pakistan trade warnings over heavy Kashmir fighting -- Reuters
Latest gunfire exchange between Pakistan and India, worst in 11 years -- CTV News/AP
Kashmir: India and Pakistan warn each other over attacks -- BBC
India, Pakistan trade blame over border clashes -- Washington Post
India-Pakistan trade machine gun fire across Kashmir border -- Irish Times
More than 30 killed in clashes on India-Pakistan border -- The Telegraph
11 injured as Pakistan pounds 150 villages -- Indian Express
Pakistan resumes shelling in J&K; thousands of villagers evacuated -- Times of India
India warns Pakistan it will pay heavy price for shelling in Kashmir -- The Guardian

Islamic Militants Attack India's Northern Jammu Province For The First Time In Over A Decade

India: Militants Strike Northern Police Post and Army Barracks, Killing 12 -- Time

Suspected Islamist attack in country's northern Jammu province is the first in over a decade

Twelve people, including an army officer, were killed on Thursday, when suspected Islamist militants, dressed in army uniform, attacked a police station and an army camp in Jammu province, part of India’s northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The militants lobbed grenades and fired automatic guns at the Hira Nagar police station in Kathua district, 7 km from the border with Pakistan, killing a shopkeeper and four policemen.

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More News On Today's Militant Attack In India's Northern Jammu Province

Attacks in Kashmir kill 12 ahead of India-Pakistan peace summit -- Financial Times
Militants raid forces in India before India-Pakistan talks, 12 dead -- Reuters
Kashmir attacks: Indian troops and civilians killed -- BBC
Ahead of India-Pakistan Talks, 12 Killed After Militant Attacks in Jammu -- New York Times
Militants storm Indian bases in Kashmir, kill 10 -- Global Post/AFP
Army operation over in J&K's Samba, all three terrorists gunned down -- Times
Omar: twin attacks aimed at derailing Indo-Pak dialogue -- Hindustan Times
Indian PM condemns Kashmir attack, says peace talks will go on -- Reuters

India - Pakistan Ceasefire On The Verge Of Collapse Over Kashmir

Curfews Imposed In Indian-Held Kashmir -- New York Times

NEW DELHI — Indian forces and local authorities on Sunday enforced curfews in several towns in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir after rioting on Friday left two civilians dead.

Shops were closed and traffic was all but nonexistent in the city of Jammu on Sunday, according to the police in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Protests flared in parts of the state but only minor injuries to police officers and protesters were reported, the police said.

The clashes between Muslims and Hindus that erupted Friday after prayer services for the Id al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan added to the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the disputed region. Those strains have worsened over the past week after exchanges of gunfire and a still-murky attack on Tuesday, in which five Indian soldiers were killed.

India has blamed Pakistan’s army for the attack, a charge that Pakistan has denied. On Sunday there were more reports of gunfire.

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Update: India, Pakistan exchange more gunfire, ceasefire under strain -- Reuters

My Comment: India accuses Pakistan .... Pakistan accuses India .... this is unraveling fast.

India Warns Of Nuclear War

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

India Warns Kashmir Residents To Prepare For Nuclear War: Reports -- Global Post

A local newspaper in India controlled Kashmir has warned resident to prepare for nuclear war, the AP reported.

Following a series of skirmishes between Pakistan and India over the line of control in Kashmir, officials in Indian-Controlled Kashmir are telling residents to prepare for a possible nuclear attack, the Associated Press reported today.

The directive was published on Monday in a major local newspaper, and explained to people how they should stay safe after nuclear weapons are unleashed. It advised people to build toilet-equipped basements, or to construct bunkers in their front yards. Residents should also stock their shelters with candles, battery-operated lights, radios, and non perishable foods, the newspaper said, the AP reported.

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More News On India Warning Kashmir Residents To Prepare For Nuclear War

Police in India’s Kashmir publish nuclear war survival tips, say notice doesn’t signal concern -- Washington Post/AP
Indian Kashmir warns of nuclear war -- Ahram Online
India warns of nuclear threat to Kashmir -- The Australian
Kashmir nuclear war advisory released by India police -- Global News Desk
Police issues safety guidelines for nuclear war in India-controlled Kashmir -- Global Times
Indian officials warn Kashmiris of possible nuclear attack: Report -- News Pakistan
Villagers in Kashmir build bunkers as tensions rise between Pakistan and India -- Washington Post/AP

Prime Minister: Pakistan Cannot Afford Another War With India

Pak Can’t Afford Another War Over Kashmir: Gilani -- Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday described Kashmir as a cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, but called for a need to resolve the dispute "through diplomacy and dialogue" as his country "cannot afford wars in the 21st century''.

Gilani was addressing a gathering in Islamabad to mark Pakistan's Kashmir Solidarity Day that has been observed since 1990 to keep the issue in public discourse and call for implementation of UN resolutions on J&K and a plebiscite in the region.

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My Comment: Even though Kashmir still remains as the cornerstone of Pakistan foreign policy, there is (finally) a realization in Pakistan that it has a limit on what it can afford in pursuing it's Kashmir claim.

The Kashmir Connection: A Puzzle

TARGET At the Taj Mahal Hotel and other Mumbai sites, 163 victims died.
Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

From The New York Times:

All of the nightmares of the 21st century come together in Pakistan,” in the words of the former C.I.A. officer Bruce Riedel. Among them is Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Army of the Pure, the group being blamed for the deadly attacks in Mumbai.

American intelligence on Lashkar falls into three categories. The biggest is the unknown. What little is known is bad enough. The what-ifs are worse: in particular, a possible strategic partnership between Lashkar and Al Qaeda’s forces in Pakistan. Then there is the unknown.

If there were operational links between Lashkar and Al Qaeda in the multiple attacks that terrorized Mumbai for three days last week, American counterterrorism officials are still looking for the evidence. Beyond informed speculation, no proof in the public domain shows those two groups have a working alliance. But they have had some common goals and common ground.

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My Comment: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This is why militants from Lashkar and Al Qaeda’s forces in Pakistan are one and the same

Some News On the Pakistan/India Border

Pak troops violate ceasefire again, fire along LoC -- Times Of India

SRINAGAR: Indian Army positions were fired at from Pakistani side in Nowgam sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, said an Army spokesman.

Pakistan troops have violated ceasefire for the third time in two weeks.

Brig. Gopala Krishnan Murali said the Pakistanis opened fired just after noon on Wednesday and "we returned fire but there were no casualties." ( Watch )

He said the skirmish lasted about 15 minutes.

Indian and Pakistani soldiers have traded gunfire at least twice before last month in the same Kupwara region.

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‘ISI should not be discussed in public forum’ -- Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) should no longer be discussed in a public forum, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said on Tuesday. He said that no one was allowed to discuss intelligence agencies or move against them in parliament in the United Kingdom and it was a pity that the government was giving the country’s enemies reason to criticise it. He said the ISI was an important organisation that worked in the interests of the country. Referring to statements by the Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, he said that it was shameful that the PML-N had tried to siege the ISI in 1999 by appointing a handpicked retired army officer as its director general and was now trying to capture it.

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Pakistan poised to send 800 guerrillas to India: BSF -- Daily Times

* Paramilitary officials say security force has intensified patrols along Rajasthan’s borders with Pakistan

JODHPUR: India on Tuesday stepped up security on its border, a top Indian paramilitary official said, alleging that Pakistan may be looking for an ‘opportunity’ to push nearly 800 militants onto its soil.

“We have received information that nearly 800 militants are waiting to cross over to India at the borders,” Border Security Force (BSF) chief AK Mitra said in Indore, a strategic city in the Rajasthan state bordering Pakistan.

The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is waiting for an ‘opportunity’ to launch the cross-border intrusion, Mitra claimed, adding that India’s borders were being fortified to prevent any infiltration.

The 120,000-member BSF is India’s first line of defence along its frontier with Pakistan. “The wired fencing at border areas is being further strengthened” and other steps are being taken that have “effectively checked” the threat of infiltration, Mitra said.

Intensified patrols: Other paramilitary officials in Jodhpur, a city also located in Rajasthan, said on Tuesday that the security force had intensified patrols along the state’s borders with Pakistan and elsewhere in northern India.

The charge that Pakistan plans a major guerrilla infiltration came after deadly serial blasts against Indian targets and clashes along the Line of Control last month badly strained the peace process.

India says it has the “clearest evidence” of the ISI’s involvement in an attack on its embassy in Kabul last month that killed 60 people — a charge denied by Pakistan..

New Delhi has also repeatedly accused Pakistan of training and funding militants and pushing them into the revolt-hit Muslim-majority region of Indian-held Kashmir as well as other parts of India — allegations that Islamabad rejects.

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My Comment: An outsider looking in would say that both sides are now positioning themselves for a war. All we need now is one twitchy and tense scene that results in a massive firefight.