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Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar
Eighteen persons, including 12 militants, were killed in the Kashmir valley where life was crippled by a general strike called by the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Friday.
Defence sources said 12 militants were gunned down by the security forces at Makarwali Galli on the Line of Control in Kupwara sector in north Kashmir early on Friday.
They said a large group of militants tried to enter into the Indian side of the LoC in Makarwali Galli. The group was intercepted by the security forces and 12 militants were killed in the gun battle that ensued.
"Heavy fighting is still on," the sources said.
Militants forced their entry into the house of one Mohammad Abdullah Dar at Groora Bandipore in the northern Baramullah district on Thursday night.
Sources said militants fired on the occupants of the house from automatic weapons killing the house owner, his son and daughter-in-law. Police immediately rushed to the spot. No one has yet owned responsibility for the killings.
Three more persons, including a physical education teacher, were killed in separate incidents in central Budgam and Kupwara districts.
Life in the entire Kashmir valley was paralysed by the general strike on Friday. The general council of the APHC, which met on Wednesday, had called the strike to protest against alleged human rights violations in the state and the government's decision to declare Jammu as a "disturbed area."
All shops were closed and traffic on the roads was thin. Educational institutions and government offices too remained shut.
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