Violent clashes have broken out in Kashmir, with Indian police and paramilitary forces firing tear gas and pellet guns at hundreds of protesters who were throwing rocks at them.
The unrest was reported in Srinagar, Anantnag and Sopore following Eid prayers on Saturday.
The violence follows the detention of separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who have been placed under house arrest.
It comes on the day when a 10-year-old boy was shot dead in Pakistan during an attempted assassination of an opposition lawmaker.
The unrest was reported in Srinagar, Anantnag and Sopore following Eid prayers on Saturday. A clash is pictured in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir
The violence follows the arrest of separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who have been placed under house arrest
Police used tear gas as they were pelted by rocks, flares and other missiles as tensions heighten in Kashmir
Dramatic images show groups of youths clashing with security forces in the streets of Srinagar.
The fresh violence come a week after a day-long gun battle last Saturday, which left at least 10 dead as militants stormed a police facility in a pre-dawn attack.
The militants, believed to be three in number, detonated grenades and fired automatic assault rifles to gain entry to the police headquarters in southern Pulwama district which also houses families of some officers, director general of police S.P. Vaid said.
One police officer was killed in the initial assault, while three paramilitary troops were injured and evacuated to a nearby hospital, he said.
Kashmir has been divided between Indian and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full
Rebel groups have for decades fought the more than 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the restive territory, demanding independence or a merger of the former Himalayan kingdom with Pakistan
The clashes are the latest in a recent spate of violence between Indian authorities and separtists
‘Three more police officers and four CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) soldiers were killed later during the attack,’ Vaid told AFP.
Two attackers were killed and government forces were searching for the third attacker, believed to be holed up in the compound, he said.
All the families in the compound were evacuated and the militants had taken no hostages, police said in an earlier statement.
Authorities cut off mobile internet services in the district to prevent residents from organising anti-India protests as a tactic to help the militants escape.
In recent months, residents, sometimes entire villages, have increasingly hit the streets and thrown stones at soldiers when rebels are trapped in military cordons to help them escape.
BOY, 10, KILLED DURING BOTCHED ASSASSINATION
A ten-year-old boy was gunned down by killers dressed in police uniforms in an attempted assassination of a Pakistani politician.
Two gunmen opened fire on opposition lawmaker Khawaja Izharul Hassan as he left a mosque today in Karachi.
Hassan was meeting and greeting people after Eid prayers when the killers, riding on motorbikes, fired a number of shots.
Two gunmen opened fire on opposition lawmaker Khawaja Izharul Hassan as he left a mosque today in Karachi
The politician, a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P), which represents the Urdu speaking population, was uninjured.
One of the attackers was shot during a chase, police officer Pir Mohammad Shah has said.
He told Geo News: ‘They were wearing helmets and were garbed in police uniforms.’
The killers were dressed in police unforms, MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari tweeted after the deadly attack.
Five people were injured, Radio Pakistan reports.
The killers were dressed in police unforms, MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari tweeted after the deadly attack
MQM leader Farooq Sattar condemned the shooting and criticised federal and provincial governments for not providing adequate security to opposition politicians despite threats from banned sectarian militant outfits.
‘I strongly condemn this attack on Khawaja Izharul Hassan,’ Farooq said.
‘My party colleagues and myself are facing threats from banned sectarian militant outfits and other organisations but federal and provincial governments have failed to provide us adequate security.’
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators after sporadic protests broke out close to the police facility, an officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Government forces have stepped up counterinsurgency operations since the start of the year and have killed at least 136 rebels, including most of the top commanders of rebel groups operating in the disputed territory.
Kashmir has been divided between Indian and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.
Rebel groups have for decades fought the more than 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the restive territory, demanding independence or a merger of the former Himalayan kingdom with Pakistan.
Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
Kashmir Muslim protesters throw stones at Indian police and paramilitary forces during clashes in the downtown area of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir
A man with his face covered with a mask hurls a weapon at police during the violence in Srinagar today
Groups of separatists held banners during the protests as violence escalates in the hotbed state of Kashmir