Fifteen die in Kashmir
Violence flared up in Indian administered Kashmir on Saturday resulting in at least 15 people being killed.
A clash with the Indian army left eight fighters and one soldier killed, while another was injured, police said.
Three members of a wedding party were also killed after they were kidnapped by fighters at gun-point.
Earlier, three suspected members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba group were shot dead by soldiers in Rajouri district. One civilian was also killed in that clash.
The kidnapping incident occurred in Rajouri district. Police say fighters abducted eight members of a wedding party in the village of Samoot around mid-day on Friday.
Three of those captured were shot dead in the evening but five managed to escape – one of them with gunshot wounds.
Police said suspected fighters killed another person in southern Doda district on Saturday.
Crowd dispersed
Meanwhile, at least five people were injured on Saturday when police fired into the air and used batons to disperse more than 1,000 people demanding the bodies of eight fighters killed in an overnight encounter.
Police and witnesses said angry residents of the village of Zainepora in Pulwama district shouted anti-India slogans as they ringed the police station and pelted it with stones.
The bodies were handed over to the villagers on Saturday evening to calm the situation.
“The burial went on peacefully and was attended by more than 1,000 people,” a police officer said.