Indian troops kill 2 rebels in Kashmir fighting

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A nearly 20-hour gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir ended Monday after government troops killed two suspected rebels in the Himalayan region's main city, a senior police official said.

The fighting began Sunday evening when troops cordoned off a neighborhood in Srinagar following a tip that rebels were in a house there, said police officer Afadul Mujtaba.

Two policemen were wounded in the fighting, he said.

There was no statement immediately from any of the rebel groups fighting against Indian rule.

About 68,000 people have been killed since 1989 in an armed uprising and subsequent crackdown by Indian forces. While the armed rebellion has largely been suppressed, Kashmir sees frequent flares of violence during the warmer months as anti-India rebels step up demands for independence or Kashmir's merger with neighboring Pakistan.