Three militants, five civilians killed in Kashmir

Five Kashmiri civilians and three militants were killed in southern Kashmir, police said Sunday.

The militants were killed in a gunbattle with the Indian forces and a civilian was also shot dead in Kulgam area, police spokesman Manoj Pandita said.

Four more civilians were killed in a blast soon after the gunbattle ended when they entered the house from where the militants had been fighting.

Indian forces use explosives to blow up the houses from which the militants fight during the gunbattles.

Hospital authorities confirmed the death of five people.

Over 43 civilians have been reportedly wounded in the protests and clashes between people and the Indian forces that are being reported from several areas across the south.

The pro-independence leadership called for a complete shutdown to be observed on Monday against the killings.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.