A civilian was killed in one of the clashes that erupted between protesters and security forces in parts of Kashmir on Thursday following the death of three militants in a shootout in the south of the valley that was limping to normalcy after months of a bloody unrest since July.
The state police said Arif Amin Shah (24) of Sangam village in south Kashmir was killed after a mob threw stones at security forces in a neighbourhood, some distance away from a village where three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in a six-hour gunfight.
The police said Shah was hit by a stray bullet but residents alleged he was killed in firing by the security forces. At least a dozen civilians were also injured. One of them was critical, the locals said.
An officer said that the slain militants were all Kashmiris and apparently belonged to southern Kashmir where widespread clashes erupted between security forces and civilians after news spread about the militants' deaths.
Some villagers tried to march towards the shootout site in Arwani village, some 40 km from here, in Kulgam district. They threw stones at police contingents and paramilitary troopers.
Clashes also erupted at a dozen places in Anantnag and Kulgam -- the worst hit south Kashmir districts in the unrest triggered by the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
(With IANS and PTI inputs)
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