Suspected rebels kill Indian soldier in Kashmir

AP, India :Suspected rebels killed one Indian soldier and wounded another Saturday near the highly militarized cease-fire line dividing disputed Kashmir between India and Pakistan, an Indian army officer said.Indian troops were searching for holed-up militants who were believed to have infiltrated into Indian-held Kashmir from the Pakistani side, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.He said at least three Indian soldiers and five Kashmiri militants had been killed in fighting over the past week in the mountainous Kupwara region, about 85 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Srinagar, the main city in India-held Kashmir.There was no immediate statement from any of the rebel groups fighting against Indian rule since 1989. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, and both claim the region in its entirety.India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents and helping them to cross over to the Indian side of Kashmir to launch attacks on Indian forces and other government targets.Pakistan denies the charge and says it offers only moral and diplomatic support to them. The rebels have been fighting for Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan or independence from India.About 68,000 people have been killed since 1989 in the uprising and subsequent crackdown by Indian forces.