Protests erupt in Indian-occupied Kashmir after four killed, protestors shout “Long Live Pakistan”

Hundreds of angry Kashmiris clashed with government forces on Thursday in Srinagar, Indian-occupied Kashmir, after three suspected rebels and a woman were murdered in a gunfight, police, and witnesses said.

Federal paramilitary forces and Counterinsurgency police surrounded the Batamaloo neighborhood of Srinagar after midnight, following a tip-off that freedom-fighters were hiding in a house, triggering an exchange of fire.

It was later announced that three of them were killed in the gun battle that lasted several hours.

“One young woman was also killed during the encounter,” a police officer told the AFP news agency.

“The woman was caught in the skirmish. Her killing is unfortunate,” Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh told reporters.

Remains of the encounter site in Batamaloo area of Srinagar Kashmir where three Militants and a woman was killed during an encounter.

Photos @mehranbhat97 for The Kashmiriyat pic.twitter.com/KfMid7HDkQ

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As word of the killings scattered, hundreds of locals took to the streets, throwing stones at Indian forces who fired tear gas and metal pellets.

The crowd shouted slogans, such as “We want freedom” and “Long live Pakistan,” according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

No injuries were reported from the clashes.

Armed encounters between freedom fighters and Indian forces are frequent in the region but rare in Srinagar.

The last such combat occurred in June, in which three local fighters were killed and 15 houses demolished in the heart of Srinagar.

Thursday’s deaths came a day after parallel protests in the northeastern Kashmiri town Sopore, where Irfan Ahmed Dar, 26, was found dead hours after police detained him.

Dar’s family claims the police tortured and killed him, later dumping his body in an open area.

Nonetheless, police claim Dar was an overground partner of anti-India fighters and escaped from police custody before he was found dead.

Dar’s body was not delivered to his family, and officers buried him in a graveyard reserved for what they label as slain rebels.

At least 192 freedom-fighters, 73 Indian forces personnel, and 47 civilians have been killed in armed violence this year across the disputed territory.

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