Indian forces kill 8 protesters in occupied Kashmir

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Indian-held Kashmir (AA) - At least 11 civilians have been killed and over 100 others wounded in several separate incidents of Indian security forces opening fire on protesters in southern parts of Indian-held Kashmir since Friday night, police said Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of people broke the curfew imposed by the Indian government and took to the streets in several districts of the valley following the killing of a 22-year-old Kashmiri militant commander, Burhan Wani, in a gunbattle Friday.

Local police chief Javed Mujtaba Gilani confirmed that so far 11 civilians had been killed by Indian forces in Kulgam, Pulwama and Anantnag districts. Several injured are said to be in critical condition.

According to Gilani, dozens of police stations, police posts, paramilitary and army camps also came under attack by protesters.

Tens of thousands of people attended Wani's funeral prayers in southern-held Kashmir's Tral region, who came from all across the valley despite imposition of curfew in several areas.

Telephone services remained disconnected across southern-held Kashmir while cellular internet was also suspended across the occupied valley.

Curfew was expected to continue Sunday.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in Indian-held Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 Kashmiris have been killed so far in the violence, most of them by Indian forces. India maintains over half a million soldiers in Indian-held Kashmir.

A part of Kashmir is also held by China.