2 troopers wounded in landmine explosion in Indian-controlled Kashmir

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Two Indian army troopers were wounded in a landmine blast which went off close to line-of-control (LoC) in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Monday.

The blast took place Sunday in Keran sector of frontier Kupwara district, around 125 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Two troopers were wounded yesterday when they accidentally stepped over an anti-personnel mine near LoC in Keran sector," said a defense official. "The wounded troopers were immediately rushed to hospital and their condition is stated to be stable."

During the past more than two decades of ongoing armed insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, many people were killed or left crippled after inadvertently fiddling with the explosives or stepping upon the landmines planted blindly in the region particularly along LoC.

Rights groups in the region have long been demanding clearance of land mines and sensitization of the areas in the region. LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.

A guerrilla war is also going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. The gunfight between militants and Indian troopers in Indian-controlled Kashmir takes place intermittently.