SRINAGAR, Dec 28: Indian forces on Friday killed two suspected militants in a gunbattle and wounded seven civilians later during anti-India protests in Indian-held Kashmir, police said.

Two army officers and one policeman were injured in the fighting in Chandigam, a village 45km south of Srinagar, said a police officer. A police statement said those killed were Kashmiri members of Lashkar-e-Taiba. There was no independent account of the fighting and no group immediately claimed involvement.

After the gunbattle, hundreds of villagers took to the streets chanting “We want freedom” and “Go India, go back,” protesting government forces besieging them.

The police statement said officers shot and wounded seven civilians in the crowd after protesters threw rocks at police. Those injured were hospitalised but no details of their condition were immediately available. The protest spread to neighbouring Pulwama town.

Later on Friday, the government ordered an inquiry into troops firing on the protesters with findings to be submitted within two weeks, said Shafat Noor, a state administrator.—AP