SRINAGAR, Feb 10: Two suspected Muslim freedom fighters and a civilian died on Saturday in a gunbattle with troops in occupied Kashmir when guerrillas opened fire on an army patrol, the army said.

The battle occurred in Check-i-Challan in Shopian, 55 kilometres south of Srinagar.

“The militants opened fire on a search party” and were killed in “retaliatory action,” army spokesman A.K. Mathur claimed, adding that the civilian died in crossfire.

One of the dead guerillas was a district commander of Harkakat-ul-Mujahideen, Mathur said. The outfit is one of about a dozen guerrilla outfits fighting New Delhi's rule in occupied Kashmir.

The civilian's death brought thousands of protesters onto the streets of the village, witnesses said. The protesters, shouting “We want freedom,” alleged that the civilian was frisked and then shot dead by soldiers after the gunbattle was over.

Mathur denied the allegation and asserted that was an attempt to tarnish the army's reputation.The region has been in ferment during the past few weeks over the killings of five civilians by members of a special counter-insurgency unit.

Eight policemen belonging to the unit have been arrested. They are accused of describing the civilians as militants and claiming rewards for their deaths.—AFP