SRINAGAR: Indian troops killed three suspected fighters in India-held Kashmir, ending nearly an 18-hour gun battle, officials claimed on Sunday.

Indian paramilitary spokesman Sanjay Sharma said the three fighters were killed on Sunday on the outskirts of Srinagar. Two counterinsurgency police officials and a soldier were wounded, he said.

Sharma said Indian troops had laid a siege to a neighborhood on Saturday on a tip that some fighters were hiding there.

The fighting sparked anti-India protests and clashes as residents tried to march to the site of the battle in solidarity with the fighters.

Government forces fired warning shots, shotgun pellets and tear gas at the stone-throwing protesters. No one was immediately reported injured.

Residents said government forces blasted at least five houses with explosives during the fighting, a common tactic employed by Indian troops in held Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2018