The anti-India unrest in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir has claimed the life of the youngest militant, a 14-year-old soccer player who was fatally shot fighting troops alongside his 16-year-old friend.
Their deaths in an 18-hour firefight in December come as hundreds of young Kashmiris join rebel groups, leading to a surge in attacks on government troops and pro-India Kashmiri politicians in the region, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.
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The anti-India unrest in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir has claimed the life of the youngest militant, a 14-year-old soccer player who was fatally shot fighting troops alongside his 16-year-old friend.
A cousin of the 14-year-old Mudassir Rashid Parray says police tortured him for over two weeks in 2017. Police say they only counseled him to quit working with rebels.
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, Fareeda Rasheed, mother of a Kashmiri boy Mudassir Rashid Parray grieves inside her house in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Mudassir, who was then 14-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. Dying with his teammate in an 18-hour firefight in December, Mudassir became the youngest militant slain fighting Indian troops in a three-decade insurgency in Kashmir. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, books belonging to Kashmiri boy Saqib Bilal Sheikh are stacked inside his room in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018 photo, Mehbooba shows a picture of her son Saqib Bilal Sheikh on a mobile phone as father Bilal Ahmed Shiekh, looks on while talking to the Associated Press in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018 photo, a Kashmiri man along with his daughter drives past a graffiti on the house of Mudassir Rashid Parray, referring to him as a martyr, in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Mudassir, who was then 14-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. Dying with his teammate in an 18-hour firefight in December, Mudassir became the youngest militant slain fighting Indian troops in a three-decade insurgency in Kashmir. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, Bazila Bilal shows the trophies and medals of her brother Saqib Bilal Sheikh inside her home in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
Indian authorities have responded by stepping up counterinsurgency operations and cracking down on civilian protests, often responding to stone-pelting with live bullets.
In this Dec. 26, 2018 photo, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din wipes his tears as he talks to the Associated Press about his grandson Saqib Bilal Sheikh in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
A cousin of the 14-year-old Mudassir Rashid Parray says police tortured him for over two weeks in 2017. Police say they only counseled him to quit working with rebels.
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, Asim Aijaz prays near the grave of his nephew Saqib Bilal Sheikh, who was 16-years-old when he died in a gunbattle, at martyrs graveyard in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. On a hot day in August, two teenage boys in the Kashmiri town of Hajin, including Saqib, walked away from a local soccer pitch, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, Fareeda Rasheed, mother of a Kashmiri boy Mudassir Rashid Parray grieves inside her house in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Mudassir, who was then 14-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. Dying with his teammate in an 18-hour firefight in December, Mudassir became the youngest militant slain fighting Indian troops in a three-decade insurgency in Kashmir. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, books belonging to Kashmiri boy Saqib Bilal Sheikh are stacked inside his room in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018 photo, Mehbooba shows a picture of her son Saqib Bilal Sheikh on a mobile phone as father Bilal Ahmed Shiekh, looks on while talking to the Associated Press in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018 photo, a Kashmiri man along with his daughter drives past a graffiti on the house of Mudassir Rashid Parray, referring to him as a martyr, in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Mudassir, who was then 14-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. Dying with his teammate in an 18-hour firefight in December, Mudassir became the youngest militant slain fighting Indian troops in a three-decade insurgency in Kashmir. (AP PhotoDar Yasin)
In this Dec. 26, 2018, photo, Bazila Bilal shows the trophies and medals of her brother Saqib Bilal Sheikh inside her home in Hajin village, north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Saqib, who was then 16-years-old, and another teenager walked away from a local soccer pitch in the Kashmiri town of Hajin on a hot day in August, only to return home months later in body bags. The boys journeyed together from playfield to armed rebellion, joining a nearly three-decade insurgency that is drawing greater numbers of teenage boys and young men as New Delhi cracks down on anti-India protests. (AP Photo Dar Yasin)
