Violent anti-India protests erupt in Kashmir after rebel leader killed

Violent protests have erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir after Indian troops allegedly killed a top leader of the pro-independence Hizb-ul-Mujahideen group.

According to police chief Shesh Pal Vaid, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed in a gun battle with Indian troops in Saimoh village in Tral area, some 40 kilometers south of Kashmir's capital, Srinagar, in the early hours of Saturday.

The operation was carried out, following an intelligence tip-off, on Bhat's hideout in the village, the police official said, adding that one of Bhat's fighters had also been killed in the overnight gun battle, which ended later in the day.

Police cordoned off the fighting site but faced hundreds of stone-throwing protesters who chanted anti-India slogans, trying to allegedly help possible trapped fighters escape from the area.

Witnesses said a young man lost his life and several other people sustained injuries after government troops opened fire on demonstrators near the gun battle site. Vaid claimed that the young man had been killed by crossfire.

Reports say that shops and business have been closed and thousands of demonstrators are heading toward the village.

Similar clashes between government forces and angry demonstrators were also reported to have been erupted in different places across the Kashmir Valley, with police and paramilitary troops firing shotgun pellets and tear gas canisters to disperse protesters who were growing in number.

SS