SRINAGAR, Jan 12: A policeman was killed and 13 people were injured when a police patrol came under attack in Kashmir on Monday, a police spokesman said.

Eight of the injured were policemen, the spokesman said, adding that five civilians were also hurt when one or two rebels launched the attack in busy Anantnag town, some 50km south of here.

The spokesman said the rebel or rebels hurled a grenade at a police vehicle before raking it with automatic gunfire in the Matan Chowk area of the town.

Police and para-military reinforcements were rushed to the scene. "The area was sealed off and searches launched to arrest the militants responsible for the attack," the spokesman said. Indian troops, meanwhile, killed two fighters during a three-hour gunbattle.-AFP