Indian troops kill two rebels in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, July 10 (AP): Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir leading to injuries to at least 20 people on Tuesday.

The government forces killed at least two rebels during fighting in a village, police and residents said.

Hundreds of villagers, shouting slogans eulogising militants and demanding an end to Indian rule over the disputed region, threw stones at Indian troops in a bid to help rebels who were trapped in a civilian home in a neighborhood of southern Shopian area, police said. Counterinsurgency police and soldiers cordoned the area following intelligence that militants were hiding there, police said.

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