Ekip
24 January 2018•Update: 24 January 2018
By Zahid Rafiq
SRINAGAR, Jammu Kashmir
Two militants and a 17-year-old civilian were killed by Indian forces in southern part of Jammu Kashmir on Wednesday, police said.
"In an encounter today at Saigund Shopian, two terrorists have been neutralized and weapons have been recovered. Unfortunately one boy was also killed in the cross-fire and two ladies sustained injuries. Search is still going on," Shesh Paul Vaid, chief of police in the region, said in a statement.
According to local news outlets, hundreds of people in the area took to the streets over the killing of the militants and clashed with the Indian forces. The forces opened fire on the protesters killing the teen, identified as Shakir Ahmad Mir.
The government in the region has suspended internet services in Shopian and Pulwama districts.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.
Also in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.
Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.
