Gunman killed in clash in disputed Kashmir

Police in the Indian-administered Kashmir have killed a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) rebel Monday evening during clashes in which two security personnel were also injured, police said Tuesday. "It was a chance encounter when a counter-insurgency party of police came under fire. In retaliation a militant was killed," a police officer said. The gunfight took place in the Litter area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir in which a militant identified as Ashiq Ahmad Lone (22) was killed. Lone was a first year Arts student from district Shopian's Heff Shermal village before joining the militant ranks. Earlier this year, his parents had alleged regular police harassment of the youth which forced Lone to pick up gun-a charge police had denied. In the late Monday's gunfight two police personnel identified as Constable Mohammad Ashraf and special police officer Arif Maqbool were injured. Kashmir has been observing a revival of the militancy with Pulwama district witnessing a surge in armed rebellion in which local youth, mostly highly educated, are participating. This has been called a 'dangerous trend' by several observers. Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region, is divided between India and Pakistan by a de facto border called line-of-control (LoC). Both India and Pakistan claim the region in full. Since their Independence from British, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. A guerrilla war, since 1989, is also going on between militants and the Indian troops stationed in Indian- administered Kashmir over the past more than two decades.