NEW DELHI: Two soldiers and six suspected militants were killed in two separate gunbattles in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said Sunday.
Kashmir police inspector general Vidhi Kumar Birdi told AFP that authorities in the disputed territory had “carried out two different operations” in villages in the Kulgam district.
Birdi said two members of the security forces had been killed, with clashes continuing in Modergram and Frisal Chinnigam villages.
“We have retrieved the bodies of two terrorists from Modergram, and four others from Frisal Chinnigam,” said Birdi.
This is the latest incident in an uptick of attacks in the disputed territory.
India and Pakistan both claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in full and have fought three wars for control of the Himalayan region.
Rebel groups have waged an insurgency since 1989, demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels.
In June, nine Indian Hindu pilgrims were killed and dozens wounded when a gunman opened fire on a bus carrying them from a shrine in the southern Reasi area.
It was one of the deadliest attacks in years and the first on Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir since 2017, when gunmen killed seven people in another ambush on a bus.
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Eight killed in gunbattles in Indian Kashmir: police
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Eight killed in gunbattles in Indian Kashmir: police
- Birdi said two members of the security forces had been killed, with clashes continuing in Modergram and Frisal Chinnigam villages
Starmer calls for UK to have a deeper relationship with China during ‘challenging times’
- The UK leader tells China’s leader Xi Jinping that their countries need to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues
BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Thursday for a deeper relationship with China during what he called “challenging times for the world.”
The UK leader told China’s leader Xi Jinping that their countries need to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues.
“I have long been clear that the UK and China need a long term, consistent and comprehensive strategic partnership,” he said.
Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with Xi in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony.
The disruption to global trade under US President Donald Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. Starmer is the fourth leader of a US ally to visit Beijing this month, following those of South Korea, Canada and Finland. The German chancellor is expected to visit next month.
Starmer, who became prime minister in July 2024, is trying to expand opportunities for British companies at a time when the economy at home is slow. More than 50 top business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of some cultural organizations.
The UK leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress.
Relations deteriorated in recent years over growing concern about Chinese spying activity in Great Britain, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war, and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.
The UK leader told China’s leader Xi Jinping that their countries need to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues.
“I have long been clear that the UK and China need a long term, consistent and comprehensive strategic partnership,” he said.
Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with Xi in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony.
The disruption to global trade under US President Donald Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. Starmer is the fourth leader of a US ally to visit Beijing this month, following those of South Korea, Canada and Finland. The German chancellor is expected to visit next month.
Starmer, who became prime minister in July 2024, is trying to expand opportunities for British companies at a time when the economy at home is slow. More than 50 top business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of some cultural organizations.
The UK leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress.
Relations deteriorated in recent years over growing concern about Chinese spying activity in Great Britain, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war, and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.
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