Deadly attacks hit Indian- administered Kashmir

Policeman and workers clearing accident site on
highway connecting valley with India killed by
fighters, officials say.

Fighters have carried out an attack in Indian-administered
Kashmir that killed at least three civilians and a policeman, 
the latest violence to hit the valley, according to authorities.

They said one of the fighters was also killed while 
attacking policemen clearing the site of a road accident
 late on Saturday near Kulgam district.

"A police party was at the accident site when they were
attacked. In the crossfire, one policeman and three 
civilians died. One of the attackers also died," a police source told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

SP Pani, senior police officer, confirmed that a police 
unit came under fire on Saturday night as it reached a 
road accident site on a key highway connecting the valley with the rest of India.

He said the dead civilians included road construction 
officials of a private company.

Police believe two of the attackers escaped under the 
cover of darkness after the officers retaliated in Malpora, 
a village 65km south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.

In the same Kulgam district, five Indian policemen and 
two civilians were killed when fighters attacked a bank van, and two soldiers were killed in an attack along the de-facto border with Pakistan.

And on Sunday, thousands of local residents gathered 
to mourn the dead separatist fighter at a funeral where his
comrades fired shots into the air as a mark of respect.

In another Kashmir-related development, Pakistan's army 
said Indian troops shot and wounded at least four Pakistani
villagers.

A military statement said the troops committed a ceasefire
violation when they fired without provocation late on 
Saturday from near the UN-monitored military control line 
near the border between the two countries.

The statement said the Indians also targeted civilians
 in the village of Thruti with mortars and that Pakistani 
troops returned fire.