Indian soldiers in India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) killed two suspected fighters along the border with Pakistan, according to the Indian army, amidst preparations for local elections in the contested region.
The Indian army’s White Knight Corps reported that the two fighters were “neutralised”—a term used to indicate their deaths—in the forested Nowshera area. Military supplies and automatic weapons were also seized during the operation.
With approximately 500,000 Indian troops stationed in Kashmir, the region has been embroiled in a 35-year conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including civilians, soldiers, and fighters.
The region has been under direct rule from New Delhi since August 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked Kashmir’s partial autonomy by abrogating Article 370 of the Indian constitution. This move allowed non-residents of Kashmir to acquire property and settle in the region, a change viewed by many Kashmiris and critics as an attempt to alter the region’s demographic balance.
Local assembly elections, the first in a decade, are scheduled to begin on September 18. Approximately 8.7 million people are eligible to vote, with results anticipated on October 8. In the lead-up to the elections, Modi is expected to campaign in Jammu, a region with a significant Hindu population.
In recent years, over 50 Indian soldiers have been killed in clashes with fighters, primarily in the Jammu district of the occupied territory.
