Four killed in IoK clashes

This year's fighting has left a total of 110 dead

SRINAGAR: Three suspected rebels and a civilian were killed in a gun battle Saturday in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said, the first in the restive region's main city this year.

The three men believed to be militants died in a shootout after government forces surrounded a densely populated neighbourhood in the old part of the city, director general of police Shesh Paul Vaid said.

Police and security personnel try to seize the body of a Kashmiri civilian, who was hit by an armoured vehicle during a gunbattle between Indian security personnel and suspected rebels, outside the SMHS hospital in Srinagar. PHOTO: AFP



A young man also died after he was hit by an armoured vehicle as hundreds of residents tried to help the rebels escape from the military cordon in the heart of Srinagar, a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Indian security personnel and protesters clash following a gunbattle between security forces and suspected rebels in Srinagar on May 5PHOTO: AFP

A paramilitary trooper was injured during the exchange of fire.



This year the fighting has left a total of 110 dead, according to officials, with 20 civilians, 28 security forces personnel and 62 militants estimated to have died.

On Saturday hundreds of residents hit the streets near the site of the firefight, shouting slogans of freedom from Indian rule, witnesses said.

The protests and clashes later spread to other areas of the city's old quarters.



India has deployed more than 500,000 soldiers to tackle the rising militancy and increasing civilian support for the rebels.

New Delhi is also preparing to deploy elite commandos from its National Security Guard, known as Black Cats, to the disputed territory.

Kashmiri mourners carry the body of a civilian who was hit by an armoured vehicle during a gunbattle between Indian security personnel and suspected rebels outside the SMHS hospital in Srinagar on May 5, 2018. PHOTO: AFP

India often accuses Pakistan of fuelling the insurgency, a charge Islamabad denies saying it only provides diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for right to self-determination.