SRINAGAR: Thousands of protesters clashed with police in India-held Kashmir on Thursday after two persons alleged to be militants were killed in a gunbattle with government forces, the army and witnesses said.

Protesters torched a police armoured vehicle as masked men fired automatic rifles into the air in honour of the dead men, a police officer at the scene said.

The gunbattle broke out early on Thursday morning in Shopian, 45 kilometres south of Srinagar.

“The militants fired on a patrol party. In retaliation, both were eliminated,” army spokesman, Colonel N.N. Joshi said.

The two were members of Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest militant group operating in the disputed Himalayan region.

After the shootout, thousands of angry villagers came out onto the streets, throwing rocks at police personnel and chanting slogans in support of the dead men.

Police fired tear gas at the protesters but later withdrew to avoid an escalation.

Authorities in Kashmir say there has been a rise in violent protests in the restive region.

Local police and the army have issued public warnings asking residents within a two-kilometre radius of a gunbattle to stay indoors, but the request is usually ignored.

Hizbul Mujahideen is one of several groups fighting an estimated half a million Indian forces deployed in the region, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Tens of thousands have died in the fighting, mostly civilians, since 1989.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2016