Two civilians, including a woman, and two freedom fighters were killed and six other people wounded during a fire fight between freedom fighters and Indian forces in Indian-held Kashmir on Saturday, police and hospital authorities said. The gun battle broke out after soldiers and special counterinsurgency police forces surrounded a neighbourhood in the southern Dialgam village, acting on a tip off that armed freedom fighters were hiding in the area.
"The lady was killed while we were laying a cordon," Inspector General of police Muneer Ahmed Khan told AFP. The fighting ended when the two freedom fighters were martyred, the local director general of police SP Vaid told AFP. The militants had a few villagers in the building with them, and police officials said they were using them as human shields.
Witnesses disputed that, saying that local residents went to the house where the freedom fighters were holed up to help them as the soldiers arrived in the area. "They (the civilians) told the soldiers from inside the house that either let the freedom fighters go or kill us as well," said a resident of Dialgam who declined to give his name.
As gunshots were heard in the area hundreds of villagers came out on to the streets shouting anti-India slogans and throwing stones at soldiers in their attempts to break the cordon and help the rebels escape. Police said in a statement they rescued 17 people from the site of the gun battle but locals said the freedom fighters, before being killed, let the civilians go.
Authorities cut off some mobile phone services in the area following the firefight.