SRINAGAR, July 5: Eleven people have been killed in fresh violence in Indian-held Kashmir, bringing to 46 the number of people killed in the past three days, police said on Monday.
Two freedom fighters and an Indian soldier were killed overnight in a fierce six-hour gun battle near the town of Kulgam, 70 kilometers south of Srinagar, a police spokesman said.
"The fighting erupted during a search out operation by the Indian army," he said, identifying one of the slain Kashmiris as Ansar Khan, alias Talibani. Mr Khan was commander of the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami.
Four civilians and a soldier were injured in the clash. Near the same town, suspected Mujahideen shot dead a civilian overnight, police said, while in another incident, suspected Mujahideen killed a colleague who had surrendered to the Indian army by slitting his throat in northern Baramulla district.
Meanwhile, Indian troops shot dead a Kashmiri along the India-Pakistan border late on Sunday in Sunderbani, nearly 400 kilometres south of Srinagar, police said. An Indian soldier lost his footing during the operation and died after he slipped into a fast flowing river.
Two more freedom fighters were killed in southern Doda district by troops during a "cordon and search" operation, a police spokesman said. In other violence, a Kashmiri was gunned down by India's security forces while a civilian woman was killed by Mujahideen in separate incidents in Rajouri district, police said.
SCHOOL BURNT: Meanwhile, Kashmir's oldest school burned down on Monday in a suspected arson attack that sparked emotional street protests over an institution that has educated the region's most prominent and influential people for generations.
The Islamia High School, a century-old brick and wood structure with large windows set in the heart of Srinagar, was gutted in the fire that broke out early Monday, said senior police officer Javed Ahmad.
"We suspect mischief. It doesn't seem to be an accident," Ahmad told The Associated Press. News of the arson sent shockwaves through the city, and people went out into the streets and shut down shops in an emotional outpouring.
No one immediately claimed responsibility. The school is run by a religious and educational trust headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kasmir's highest Islamic leader, who has been targeted in recent months by suspected freedom fighters. -APP
