(12 Jul 2017) Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces.
The fighting began overnight after Indian troops raided western Radbugh village following a tip that militants were hiding there, said police inspector-general Muneer Ahmed Khan.
He said the gunfight lasted the whole night and the three rebels were killed early Wednesday.
Authorities imposed a curfew in the old parts of Srinagar anticipating protests and clashes opposing Indian rule as two of the dead men were natives of the city.
Large crowds gathered for the funeral of Aqib Ahmad, one of the rebels killed in the encounter.
As the news of the killings spread, residents defied the restrictions and threw rocks at police and paramilitary soldiers while chanting pro-rebel slogans and favouring the end of Indian rule over the disputed Himalayan region.
No one was reported injured.
The encounter comes two days after separatists rebels attacked a bus full of Hindu pilgrims, killing 7 and injuring 19.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.
Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir to become independent or merge with Pakistan.
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