Six-year-old boy killed in Kashmir gun battle

A six-year-old boy has been killed in the crossfire between suspected rebels and Indian paramilitary forces in India-administered Kashmir.

He among five people killed in various gunfights in the disputed Himalayan region where Indian troops are clamping down amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The child was in a car that drove into a gun battle between suspected rebels and paramilitaries near the town of Bijbehara, a police officer .

"The boy and a soldier were injured during the exchange of fire and both later died in hospital," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

Three rebels were killed in a separate firefight at Chewa, near the region's main city Srinagar, in a battle that lasted 20 hours, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

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Armed clashes are frequent in Indian Kashmir but have increased in recent weeks.

New Delhi has bolstered counter-insurgency efforts in the disputed territory, with at least 33 rebels killed this month.

Popular insurgency 

Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan and has been divided between the two nuclear-armed rivals since 1947.

Rebel groups who enjoy popular support have fought for decades for Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.

An insurgency launched three decades ago has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

India has 500,000 soldiers stationed in its section of Kashmir and accuses Pakistan of arming rebel groups there.

Tensions have mounted again in Kashmir since August last year when India revoked the region's semi-autonomous status, annexed the area, detained local political leaders and imposed a months-long internet and mobile phone blackout.

Kashmiris say India is enacting a demographic change by settling non-local Hindus in the Muslim majority region after having removed the contested territory's semi-autonomous status. 

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