AP PHOTOS: Indian soldiers drill for counterinsurgency amid rise in rebel attacks in Kashmir

NOWSHERA, India (AP) — In the remote Himalayas, tens of thousands of Indian soldiers maintain a tight vigil along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. The terrain is tough and the weather is harsh as the soldiers go through counterinsurgency drills and tactical exercises following months of deadly rebel attacks in the disputed region.

Authorities say violence in the region has reduced significantly since 2019, when the Indian government stripped Kashmir of semiautonomy and brought it under direct federal control.

But in recent months, there has been a sharp rise in militant attacks on government forces, particularly in parts of Hindu-dominated southern Jammu area that experienced relative peace during the three decades of armed rebellion against New Delhi’s rule. The string of attacks killed 14 soldiers last month, according to officials, stoking fears of militancy returning to the area.

The civilian death toll in Jammu has already reached 12 in the first six months this year, equaling the toll for entire previous year.

In response, India’s military has intensified its patrols and counterinsurgency operations. It's deployed additional troops, including hundreds from the special forces, and set up new posts and camps. It's also brought in drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs to combat militants in the rugged terrain.

Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989.

India insists the miltants are terrorists sponsored by Pakistan. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

Both India and its archrival Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety, which has been divided between them since the two fought a war over the territory shortly after gaining independence from British colonization in August 1947.

On Wednesday, Pakistan celebrated its 77th independence day, while India is marking its on Thursday.

Indian army soldiers rest in full combat gear in their bunker along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier stands guard inside a bunker along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers participate in a mock drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers patrol along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier sanitizes a patch during a drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers arrive for a mock drill in an armored vehicle along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers arrive for a mock drill in an armored vehicle at the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier watches a surveillance drone during a mock drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier takes position during a drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier attends a mock drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometer (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers participate in a drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier return after patrolling in no man's area along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers patrol along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers participate in a drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers take position during a drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Indian army soldiers participate in a drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

An Indian army soldier takes position during a mock drill along the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in Nowshera sector about 127 kilometers (79 miles) from Jammu, India, Monday, Aug.12, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Voters in Delaware are set to decide the nominees for several political contests, including a closely watched campaign for governor and a potentially historic race for U.S. House.

The contest for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination that pits Delaware’s lieutenant governor against the chief executive of the state’s most populous county is the marquee race in Tuesday's primary election.

Democrats also voted in a U.S. House race where State Sen. Sarah McBride won the primary and now has the chance to become the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. That joins another trailblazing race in November in which the lone Democratic candidate for an open U.S. Senate seat could become one of only two Black women in the Senate next year.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. John Carney is hoping to continue his long career in politics by winning his party's nomination for mayor of Wilmington.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Here’s a closer look at those key races:

McBride won the Democratic primary for Delaware’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

McBride won Tuesday’s primary over businessmen Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, neither of whom reported raising any money for their campaigns. Cooper is a political newcomer, while Weir finished dead last in a 2016 congressional primary with less than 1% of the vote.

McBride, meanwhile, raised almost $3 million in contributions from around the country. McBride achieved national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States.

McBride will go up against either Donyale Hall, a Dover businesswoman and a Gulf War-era veteran of the U.S. Air Force, or James Whalen IIII, a retired state police officer and construction company owner from Millsboro, who are facing off in the GOP primary. Democrats have held the seat since 2010.

The House seat is being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who has no primary opponent as she seeks the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who held the seat since 2001. With a victory in November Blunt Rochester could become one of only two Black women in the Senate next year, joining Angela Alsobrooks of neighboring Maryland if she is also victorious in her campaign.

Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, is hoping to overcome a campaign finance scandal and succeed Carney, who can't run for governor again due to term limits. Hall-Long has been endorsed by Carney and Delaware’s Democrat Party establishment.

But the two-term lieutenant governor is facing a tough primary challenge from New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, who has raised substantially more money and has repeatedly drawn attention to Hall-Long's campaign finance violations. Former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara also is seeking the Democratic nomination, but has been overshadowed by the other two candidates.

Hall-Long’s campaign finance scandal surfaced last September, when she abruptly postponed a campaign event with Carney, saying she needed to attend to “a personal, private matter.”

In reality, her campaign was in disarray after people hired to lead it discovered major discrepancies while reviewing years of finance reports. The scandal led to a series of resignations among top campaign staff and prompted election officials to commission a forensic audit. The audit found that Hall-Long and her husband had received payments totaling $33,000 more than what she purportedly loaned to her campaign over several years — with many of the loans never being reported in the first instance.

It also found that Hall-Long’s husband and former campaign treasurer, Dana Long, wrote 112 checks to himself or to cash. The checks totaled just under $300,000 and should have been reported as expenditures. Instead, 109 were never reported in initial finance reports, and the other four, payable to Dana Long, were reported as being made to someone else.

Despite the violations, Delaware’s attorney general and elections commissioner, both fellow Democrats, declined to seek criminal charges against Hall-Long.

Carney is prohibited by law from seeking a third term as governor, but he wants to remain in public office as a chief executive and is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city.

His opponent is Velda Jones-Potter, a former Wilmington city treasurer who lost a bid for mayor four years ago. Potter served a two-year stint as Delaware’s state treasurer after being appointed to that post in 2008, but she lost an election for a four-year term as treasurer in 2010.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face no opposition in November. Carney has said as mayor he would build on the investments his gubernatorial administration has made in Wilmington, with a focus on improving public schools, expanding affordable housing and helping small businesses.

FILE - LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Thursday, July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Delaware Gov. John Carney looks on during the 2024 summer meeting of the National Governors Association, Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

FILE - Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany A. Hall-Long gives her inaugural address after being sworn in during the inauguration ceremony at Legislative Hall in Dover, Del., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. (Jason Minto/The News Journal via AP)