By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

Violence in disputed Kashmir on Friday killed nine people, including six policemen, two civilians and a militant.

Police officials who spoke to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity, said militants opened fire on a group of policemen in Achabal area killing six.

One of the slain policemen was identified as Feroz Ahmad.

Earlier on Friday, a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant commander Junaid Matoo was killed in gunbattle with the Indian armed forces in southern Kashmir’s Arwani area.

In a separate incident, two civilians including a 14-year-old boy were killed, when Indian forces opened fire at a pro-independence protest in south Kashmir.

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 over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and 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.