Rebels ambush police in Indian-held Kashmir, killing 4

Rebels fighting against Indian rule ambushed a group of police officers and killed four of them on Wednesday in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, police said.

The officials were visiting a workshop to get a police vehicle repaired in the area when militants attacked them with gunfire in the suburbs of southern Shopian town, police said. The policemen were wounded and later died at a hospital.

No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

India and Pakistan claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety. Most Kashmiris support the rebel cause that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian control since 1989. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training them, a charge Pakistan denies.

Nearly 70,000 have been killed in the rebel uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.