SRINAGAR: Anti-India protests erupted in held Kash­mir following a fierce gunbattle in which two suspected militants and a counterinsurgency policeman were killed, police said on Sunday.

Government forces, acting on a tip, encircled a house in the southern Tral area overnight, said police chief S.P. Vaid. He said fighting erupted after militants hurled grenades and fired automatic rifles to break a security cordon.

Two militants and a policeman working with a counterinsurgency unit were killed, he said. At least three other security officials, including an army officer, were wounded.

As the fighting raged, clas­hes erupted between the government forces and villagers who tried to march to the site of the fighting in solidarity with the suspected militants.

Troops fired shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the rock-throwing protesters.

Kashmiri groups have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2017