SRINAGAR, India — A gun battle between Indian troops and rebels on Monday killed three insurgents in disputed Kashmir and triggered more anti-India protests and clashes, officials said.
The fighting began before dawn after government forces raided a cluster of homes in a village in southern Anantnag district on a tip that rebels were hiding there and came under fire from them, police said.
Troops retaliated and in the brief fighting three militants were killed, said Altaf Khan, a local police officer.
As news of the killings spread, protests and clashes against Indian rule broke out in several parts of the region. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Officials ordered schools closed on Monday and clamped a curfew on some parts of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar, the center of protests and clashes against Indian rule.
Most shops and businesses in Srinagar and some other Kashmiri towns closed impromptu to protest the killings. Authorities deployed more paramilitary soldiers and police in riot gear to patrol streets in the densely militarized region.
While one suspected militant had yet to be identified, the other two slain were local rebels who were engineering students before joining the militancy, police said.
Thousands attended burial ceremonies for the two identified slain rebels, shouting slogans in favor of the militants and demanding an end to Indian rule over the region.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which in recent years has seen renewed rebel attacks and repeated public protests against Indian rule.
Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.
Most Kashmiris support the rebels’cause against Indian rule while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown. — AP
