Militants kill 3 soldiers in Indian Kashmir

A police officer salutes in front of the coffin of a slain policeman killed in an attack by suspected militants during a wreath-laying ceremony at the police headquarters in Srinagar on May 24, 2022. TAUSEEF MUSTAFA AFP SRINAGAR Militants attacked an Indian army post in the disputed Kashmir region on Thursday, killing three soldiers and killing two attackers in a shootout that came amid heightened security ahead of India's independence day celebrations.

The Rajouri area of India's only Muslim majority region took place in the early hours, and the area around the post was cordoned off after security forces conducted searches, an army official told Reuters.

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Three soldiers were killed and two were injured in the attack. The troops fired back and killed two militants, and asked not to be named, because he was not authorized to speak with the media.

The attack came just days after the revocation of Kashmir's constitutional autonomy by the Indian government, with India set to celebrate its 75th anniversary on Monday of independence from British colonial rule.

Many Kashmiris saw the loss of special autonomy as another step in the erosion of the rights of Muslims by India's Hindu-nationalist government. The government opposes that, saying it would promote the development of the region by drawing it closer to the rest of the country.

The Himalayan region has been disputed by India and neighboring Pakistan since the end of colonial rule in 1947, with both countries claiming it in full but ruling it in part.