Kashmir stand-off in second week

By Binoo Joshi
BBC News, Jammu

Indian troops have been fighting an insurgency since 1989

Indian security forces say efforts to overpower militants surrounded in a remote area of Indian-administered Kashmir have entered an eighth day.

The authorities say the militants are "holed up" in a mountainous area surrounded by thick forest in the Poonch district of Jammu.

Poor weather and difficult terrain are hindering progress, the military say.

The army says seven people, three of them security personnel, were killed in the first two days of fighting.

There were overnight clashes on Tuesday and more fighting on Wednesday morning.

Violence in Kashmir has decreased in recent years but militants are still fighting to end India's rule in the portion of Kashmir it controls.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989, when an armed insurgency against Indian rule began.

'No bunkers'

Brig Gurdeep Singh told reporters the army is not sure how many militants are surrounded.

"But one thing is certain," he said. "There are no bunkers - the terrorists are using natural caves as their hideouts."

He said only about 350 soldiers were taking part in the operation - contrary to media reports which he said gave an "exaggerated figure".

A team of commandos was also on stand-by, he added.

Brig Singh said that air strikes were not planned against the militants and that "the army is capable enough to succeed in this operation".

However he said it was impossible to predict how long it would take before it was concluded.

Brig Singh said that some militants had tried to breach the security cordon on Tuesday night, but troops "pushed them back into the forest".

He said that the army had recovered ammunition, communication equipment and rations from two hideouts captured last week.

The army says that seven people - including four militants and three security personnel - were killed in the first two days of the operation.

Local people have disputed the figures, arguing that no militants have been killed.

The area where the stand-off is taking place is one of the traditional infiltration routes used by militants crossing into Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistan.

It offers access routes to the Kashmir valley through mountain passes. The valley has been the centre of militant attacks for much of the last decade although the authorities say that the number of such attacks is decreasing.