Death toll rising in Indian-controlled Kashmir

The large-scale anti-India protests erupted Saturdaz after Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Kashmir's largest rebel group, was killed fighting with Indian troops on Friday. At least three police stations were set on fire by protesters and three officers were missing.

Indian troops have used live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas to try to control the angry crowds, police said. About 200 people were reportedly wounded, most from firearms, including 96 police, a police statement said on Saturday.

Authorities imposed a curfew for a second day on Sunday, extending it to the entire Kashmir valley, including the capital, Srinagar, and covering all 10 districts. Troops erected barricades and placed barbed wire to prevent further protests, and mobile internet services were blocked.

Six died in hospitals overnight after suffering gunshot wounds on Saturday, a police officer said.

Eight people were killed on Saturday. One protester was killed on Sunday when government forces fired on residents who defied the restrictions in the southern Pulwama area.

A policeman was also reportedly killed on Sunday when protesters pushed the vehicle he was traveling in into a river in the southern Anantnag area.

Rebel hero

Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old HM commander, had been killed in a gunfight with government forces on Friday evening, sparking the protests and clashes between government forces and locals.

Two of Wani's rebel comrades were also killed. HM is one of several groups that has been fighting the half a million Indian troops deployed in the region, calling for independence for Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan.

Anti-India sentiment is strong in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since 1947, although both claim the territory in its entirety. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.

jbh/tj (AFP, AP, dpa)