Kashmir: Rising violence in region as seven civilians killed by government troops

'They fired at us as if they were practicing their guns' resident says

Soldiers walk near the site of a gun battle in Kashmir (AFP/Getty)

At least seven civilians were killed and over 40 injured in Kashmir on Saturday after government soldiers shot at crowds of anti-India protesters.

Indian troops surrounded a village in Kashmir's southern Pulwama region after being told that militants were hiding there, said Muneer Ahmed Khan, a local police officer,

The militants emerged and exchanged gunfire with soldiers and counterinsurgency police.

Three rebels and a soldier were also killed in the clashes and a further soldier was wounded.

The gun battle prompted angry protests in Indian administered Kashmir, where hundreds of people marched, chanting pro-militant slogans and calling for an end to Indian rule.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but both countries claim the territory in its entirety.

India maintains that Pakistan funds militants and separatists in the region.

Protesters threw stones at Indian troops to help the militants escape. Government troops responded by shooting bullets, shotgun pellets and tear gas at the crowd.

Nine civilians remain critically injured.

Police officers said in a statement released later on Saturday that they regretted the killings and that the protesters had come "dangerously close" to the gun battle site.

Residents accused soldiers of directly spraying gunfire into the crowds.

Kashmiri villagers attend the joint funeral of a civilian and rebel killed in a gun battle (AP)

"They fired at us as if they were practicing their guns,' said Shabir Ahmed, a local resident.

Residents also claimed that at least two civilians, including a teenage boy, were killed further away.

Indian soldiers in an armoured vehicle fired at a group of civilians on a roadside. As the vehicle jammed, one civilian was killed, local resident Ubaid Ahmed said.

Saturday's deaths triggered further anti-India protests in the region.

In recent years, younger Kashmiris have openly supported rebels advocating to break away from India.

Tension has remained at a near-constant high in the region since July 2016, according to a briefing paper produced earlier this year by the UK parliament.

On 8 July 2016, Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old militant leader, was killed by Indian security forces, prompting "the biggest outbreak of protest and violence" in the region since 2010, according to the report.

A "war of words" broke out between India and Pakistan following the protests and tensions remained high throughout the next year.

The International Crisis Group described 2017 as "the deadliest year since 2010 in Indian-administered Kashmir."

Separatists in the region have called for three days of mourning and a general shutdown across the region following the latest unrest.