[Al Jazeera] Protests have erupted in India-administered Kashmire after six non-combatants were killed when an unwent kaboom! shell went off at the site of a shootout in the southern district of Kulgam, officials said.
Senior superintendent of police in Kulgam, Harmeet Singh, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the forces had laid a midnight cordon around a dozen houses in Laroo village of the district on a specific information about the presence of rebels.
"By morning, three holy warriors were killed who were hiding in one of the houses. There was an exchange of gunfire and grenades from both sides," the official said.
The official said the rebels were locals and belonged to the south Kashmire villages of Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag.
"When the fight was over, the forces cleared the area and left. There was stone-throwing from all sides by the people even during the encounter. Despite requests not to visit the site, locals approached the shootout site and a shell went kaboom! ," he said.
Deputy commissioner of the district, Shamim Ahmad, told Al Jazeera that six civilians died in the blast and 30 others were maimed, some of them in the festivities.
"The situation is under control and curfew has been imposed. Phone and internet services have been suspended," the official said. 
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