Police: Indian Forces Fire at Protesters, Wound 2 in Kashmir
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Government forces on Friday fired tear gas and bullets at anti-India protesters who broke from a funeral procession of a suspected insurgent killed in the Indian portion of Kashmir.
Police said at least two people suffered serious bullet wounds in the violence as thousands of protesters waved Pakistani flags and chanted "Down with India" and "We want freedom," AP reported.
The protesters hurled stones at the government forces in at least at three places in the village of Kakpora, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in the portion of Kashmir under India's control. Indian forces had killed the suspected rebel on Thursday, senior police officer Nitesh Kumar said.
Rebel groups have been fighting against India in Kashmir since 1989, and more than 68,000 people have been killed in the fighting and subsequent military crackdown.
The latest clashes erupted Thursday as Indian police and paramilitary soldiers cordoned off the village following intelligence that some insurgents were hiding there.
A gun battle between the two sides killed Talib Shah, a local commander of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, said Kumar. Two other militants were believed to have fled.
Anti-India protests resumed Friday after government forces handed over Shah's body to his relatives. Shah was later buried in the village graveyard.
