Gunbattle triggers anti-India clashes in Kashmir, 16…

SRINAGAR, India (AP) – Police and residents say at least 16 civilians have been injured during intense clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir while government forces battle a group of rebels in a village.

Hundreds of villagers threw stones at Indian troops on Tuesday in a bid to help rebels who are trapped in a civilian home in a neighborhood of southern Shopian area.

Police say counterinsurgency police and soldiers cordoned the area following intelligence that a group of militants were hiding there.

As the fighting between rebels and soldiers began, government forces also fired bullets, shotgun pellets and tear gas at protesters who tried to reach the gunbattle site.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.