Indian forces unleash violence in IHK ahead of I-Day

HELD SRINAGAR: The Indian occupation forces unleashed violence ahead of the Independence Day, killing three innocent Kashmiris on Sunday.

Three soldiers were also killed in an overnight gun battle which continued for over 12 hours, officials said on Sunday.Hundreds of Indian soldiers and counter-insurgency forces surrounded Awneera, a village about 50 kilometres (32 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar, on Saturday evening following a tip-off about armed militants in the area.

A fierce firefight broke out in which three militants and three soldiers were killed, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the militants were identified as locals.

As news of their death spread, hundreds of residents from neighbouring villages took to the streets in protest, throwing stones at soldiers and chanting slogans against Indian rule.In a separate incident early Sunday, the militants fired at an army convoy in the northern area of Hajin and injured two police officers and a soldier, the same police officer said.

On Saturday, a civilian and a soldier were killed in gunfire between Indian and Pakistan soldiers along the heavily militarised de facto border splitting the territory.At least 130 militants and 39 soldiers have died in clashes so far this year, officials say.