Two Kashmiri teachers shot dead as civilian killings escalate | Conflict News



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Teacher and male colleague killed in public school – seventh targeted assassination in six days.

Attackers shot dead two teachers in Indian-administered Kashmir in a sudden increase in targeted killings of civilians in the disputed region, police said.

Authorities blamed rebels battling Indian rule for the attack on the outskirts of Srinagar, the region’s main city, on Thursday.

Police said the attackers shot a female teacher and her male colleague at Government Boys Higher Secondary School in the Eidgah area of ​​Srinagar at a close distance and then fled.

Both died instantly, police said, as government forces blocked off the area and searched for the attackers.

The victims were members of the Hindu and Sikh minorities.

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard next to a group of teachers sitting inside a public school where two teachers were shot dead [Dar Yasin/AP]

Thursday’s incident marks the seventh targeted assassination in six days.

On Tuesday, gunmen shot dead three men in separate attacks that police also blamed on the rebels.

One of the victims was a prominent chemist from the Hindu minority in Kashmir, while another was a street vendor from the Indian state of Bihar in eastern India. The third victim was a taxi driver.

The murders have been widely condemned by pro-Indian and anti-Indian politicians.

A total of 25 civilians, including political workers, have been killed in targeted assassinations this year, according to police records.

The Himalayan territory of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan. The two big rivals claim it in its entirety.

Indian-administered Kashmiri rebels have been fighting the New Delhi regime since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists that the Kashmir rebellion is terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. Pakistan denies the accusation and most Kashmiris see it as a legitimate struggle for freedom.

Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.



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