SRINAGAR, Aug 1: Indian troops shot dead 10 Muslim rebels, including a commander, in separate clashes across Kashmir, police said on Sunday. Seven of the militants were gunned down in the northern district of Baramulla in three separate clashes on Sunday, a police spokesman told AFP.

Sameer Gujar, the deputy chief commander of the militant group al Barq, and his bodyguard were among seven killed in pre-dawn "cordon and search operations" launched by the troops, he said.

"Sameer Gujar and his bodyguard were killed in the Kreeri village while five others were gunned down in two other villages of Chandusa and Heevan." He said large quantities of arms and ammunition were recovered from the sites of three clashes.

Indian troops, backed by police, shot dead three more fighters in the northern district of Kupwara and on the outskirts of summer capital Srinagar overnight and on Sunday, police said. -AFP