Indian soldier kills fellow troops in Kashmir

Soldier kills five colleagues before killing himself in army camp in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Kashmir map

A soldier in Indian-administered Kashmir has shot dead five of his colleagues in a military camp before turning the gun on himself, an army spokesman has said.

“The soldier ran amok, killing five others before shooting himself dead in the camp in Ganderbal district,” Lieutenant Colonel Narinder Nahar Joshi said on Thursday.

The soldier was part of a counter-insurgency unit posted in Safapora village, some 20km (12 miles) north of Srinagar, the main city of the region.

Investigations are under way to determine whether the soldier was under stress.

A number of Indian soldiers and policemen deployed in the region have been killed in similar incidents in the past.

Members of the security forces are often denied leave for long periods during tough counter-insurgency operations.

In recent years the Indian army has set up helplines and yoga classes to help soldiers deal with stress.

Muslim-majority Kashmir is divided and administered separately by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.

The two countries have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

Source: News Agencies