Thousands attend funeral of two Kashmir rebels

SRINAGAR, Dec 10 (AP): Thousands of people in Indian-controlled Kashmir joined a funeral procession on Monday for two teenage rebels who were killed over the weekend in a long gunbattle with Indian troops in the disputed region.

Villagers carried the teens' bodies to a "martyr's graveyard" in the northern town of Hajin. They chanted slogans eulogizing anti-India militants and demanding an end to Indian rule over the Himalayan region.

Thousands took part in funeral prayers for the two boys that were held at least three times, to accommodate the large number of people arriving from different places in the area.

According to police, the two friends, 14-year-old Mudasir Rashid Parray and 17-year-old Saqib Bilal Sheikh, joined the rebel ranks in late August. Police said Parray was the youngest rebel killed in the three decades of armed conflict in Kashmir, a territory divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety.

"The two remained friends in life and in death," said Azhar Ahmed, a local resident. "We've lost two lively boys in our neighborhood. Everyone's eyes are moist. They lived and died for the same cause."