SRINAGAR, July 25: Twenty-three people were killed, including 13 shot dead by Indian troops along the Line of Control, in a surge of violence on Friday and overnight in occupied Kashmir, officials said.

A police spokesman said five suspected Mujahideen were shot dead as they attempted to enter the Indian side of the LoC in the Karna sector of Kupwara.

Three more Kashmiri fighters died on the LoC at Trehgam in Kupwara, said the spokesman, adding the troops ambushed both groups of Mujahideen. He said the police were trying to ascertain the group the slain Mujahideen belonged to.

In the far south, five people were shot dead as they tried to infiltrate the territory at Kanachak in the Akhnoor sector, claimed an army spokesman.

In separate violence overnight, three freedom fighters and two Indian army soldiers were killed in a six-hour encounter in Kupwara’s Vilgam area, police said. They said the violence broke out after troops launched a search for militants.

In Poonch, militants ambushed a patrol at Morah Bachai, killing two of security personnel and injuring three others.—AFP