At least four civilians have been killed during protests in India-administered Kashmir after police targeted a home where a suspected rebel was holed up.
About 28 people were also injured in Tuesday's demonstration that followed a gun battle at the home in the southern town of Chadoora, where the suspected fighter was killed, police and witnesses said.
The firefight began after police and soldiers cordoned off Chadoora following a tip that at least one gunman was hiding in the house, said police Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani.
Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said one rebel was killed in the operation and a weapon was recovered from the site. Residents said Indian troops blasted the house with explosives.
As the fighting raged, hundreds of residents chanting anti-India slogans marched to the area.
Witnesses said intense clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted just a few hundred metres from the besieged house, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the demonstration. Violence quickly spread to multiple areas.
Later, government forces fired into the crowd, killing three civilians, including a teenager, and injuring at least 20 others, police said, adding eight police and soldiers were also hurt in the clashes.
Arshad Hussain, a 22-year-old resident of Chadoora who witnessed the clashes, said that government forces "deliberately" fired at people.
"Today, I dodged bullets for the first time [in my life] and it was very scary. Blood and pieces of flesh were visible in the corridor of the house where the rebel had taken his position," he said.
Al Jazeera was unable to immediately reach the Jammu and Kashmir state government or the ruling People's Democratic Party for comment.Normal life was hit in Indian-occupied Kashmir as separatists called for a shutdown on Wednesday to protest the killing of civilians during clashes with Indian security forces.
Three civilians were killed in Chadoora town of Budgam district on Tuesday as local residents pelted stones at security forces to disrupt an encounter being carried out to flush out a rebel.
Security forces resorted to firing to diperse the protestors. Around 43 personnel of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and 20 police personnel were wounded in the stone pelting
In provincial summer capital Srinagar, shops, schools, business establishments and other installations were closed while residents remained indoors and public transport was off the roads on Wednesday.
Armed security personnel lined the streets and maintained strict vigil to prevent any untoward incident.
The separatist leaders have also called on people to hold protests after Friday prayers against the killings.
