SRINAGAR, May 27: Five Mujahideen and three Muslim civilians were killed in the latest flare-up of violence in occupied Kashmir, police said on Thursday. The Kashmiri fighters were killed in two clashes with Indian forces in Anantnag and Baramulla, police said.

Three of the Kashmiris fighters in Anantnag belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen, police said. The killing of the HM members came four days after the group claimed responsibility for a landmine blast on a main highway that left 29 Indian soldiers and their family members dead.

"This operation is part of intensified operations undertaken by the BSF (Border Security Force) and other forces after the recent blast," said a BSF statement in Srinagar.

Meanwhile, a Nepali labourer died in crossfire between Mujahideen and Indian troops in Kupwara overnight, a police spokesman said. He said suspected Kashmiri fighters also shot dead two Muslims in Poonch and Pulwama on Thursday. "The motive was not known," he said. -AFP