SRINAGAR, May 6: Thirteen people were killed in a series of gunbattles and explosions in occupied Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.

Two separate explosions triggered by men suspected of being militants claimed the life of one civilian and injured 25 others, police said.

The fatality occurred when a grenade hurled at a police patrol missed its target and exploded among civilians in Pulwama township, 30 kilometres south of Srinagar, a police spokesman said.

At least 23 people were injured.

The blast sparked panic in the surrounding area, and some shots were also heard.

Police reinforcements were sent to hunt for the attackers.

In another explosion in the Lasjan area of Srinagar, two people were injured and a civilian truck damaged, police said.

“The device was planted by the militants to target security force vehicles which pass through the area,” the spokesman said.

INDIAN CLAIM: Indian forces on Tuesday claimed killing nine militants in four separate encounters in the held state.

A police spokesman said three militants were killed in the village of Sunigam, near Banihal town, 102kms south of Srinagar, during an encounter with Indian troops on Tuesday.

On Monday night, four militants were killed in the neighbouring districts of Doda and Rajouri, police said, adding that another militant was shot dead near Shopian, 50kms south of here.

A member of India’s Border Security Force (BSF), who was injured during a gunbattle with militants on Monday night near Kulgam, 70kms south of here, died in a Srinagar hospital on Tuesday, a police spokesman said.

In the same area Indian forces shot dead another militant on Tuesday during a gunbattle sparked by a cordon-and-search operation.

A Muslim photographer, Nazir Ahmed, was abducted by unknown gunmen on Monday night in Tral township of Pulwama district and later shot dead, police said.

In another incident, a 70-year-old retired teacher, Ghulam Ahmed Bhat, was killed after he was brought out of his house in the village of Parigam in the same district, police said.

However, residents accused the BSF of killing the retired teacher, and poured onto the streets in large numbers on Tuesday, witnesses said.

Police fired in the air and lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the protesters.—AFP