SRINAGAR, India—At least seven civilians were killed and nearly two dozens injured when government forces fired at anti-India protesters in disputed Kashmir following a gunbattle that left three rebels and a soldier dead on Dec. 15, police and residents said.
Indian troops surrounded a village in the southern Pulwama area on a tip that militants were hiding there, police said. As the soldiers began a search operation, militants jumped out of a civilian home and took position in an apple orchard while firing at soldiers and counterinsurgency police, said Muneer Ahmed Khan, a top police officer.
