India: Three soldiers and four militants killed near LoC May 20-22

Event

Three Indian soldiers and four militants were killed in clashes that began on Saturday, May 20, on the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Nowgam sector. The fighting continued until the early hours of Monday, May 22. A group of infiltrators from neighboring Pakistan was reportedly intercepted by soldiers in the Bangus Valley.

The military also reportedly spotted militants in the Uri sector but failed to intercept them.

Context

This is the first infiltration this year along the LoC, which was likely made possible by heavy snowfall this winter that damaged the fencing meant to stop infiltration.

On a related note, Indian defense officials reported that as of May 17, Pakistani forces were continuing to fire shells across the LoC into Jammu and Kashmir state for the fourth consecutive day. According to officials, Pakistani soldiers shelled three areas of Rajouri district overnight, forcing almost 1700 people to evacuate. Indian officials said that over 10,000 people had been affected by the recent shelling.

Advice

As a reminder, some Western governments advise against nonessential travel to the western half of Jammu and Kashmir as well as all travel in the direct vicinity of the LoC (Pakistan border) due to the high threat of terrorism.