Indian troops kill 3 rebels in Kashmir fighting

An Indian policeman stands guard on a road after Kashmiri separatists called for a day-long strike against the recent killings in Kashmir on March 17. (AP)

SRINAGAR, India: Police say a gunbattle between Indian troops and rebels has killed three insurgents in disputed Kashmir and triggered a new round of anti-India protests and clashes.
Police say the fighting began early Monday after government forces raided a village in southern Anantnag district on a tip that rebels were hiding there and came under fire from them.
As the news of the killings spread, protests and clashes against Indian rule broke out in several parts of the region.
Officials ordered schools closed Monday and clamped curfew in some parts of Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar.
India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety. Rebel groups demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.