SRINAGAR, April 23: Indian troops shot dead 11 suspected militants, four of them near the Line of Control (LoC) while rebels killed two civilians, the army and police said. The latest violence came a day after a second successful bus run between the Indian and Pakistani zones of the disputed region, despite threats by hardline groups to attack it.

“Four of the militants were killed in the Rampur area of ... the Uri sector,” as they entered Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani zone, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel V.K. Batra said.

Five more militants were killed in a fierce clash near the northern town of Handwara.

Police said two more militants were shot dead during two separate clashes in the southern districts of Rajouri and Doda on Friday.—AFP