Soldiers and police fired at Muslim protesters demanding an end to Indian rule in Kashmir as authorities arrested top separatist leaders Monday in a bid to quash unrest that has left at least 39 people dead since June. The five latest deaths came late Sunday in Srinagar, and Monday in two towns and one village when forces confronted angry protesters defying a curfew in the Kashmir Valley. At least 38 people with bullet injuries were hospitalized in Srinagar during daylong street protests, doctors said. In an effort to head off Monday's protests, authorities arrested two prominent separatist leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, in pre-dawn raids, police said. Another separatist leader, Mohammed Yasin Malik, was arrested later Monday for defying the curfew when he tried to march to the center of Srinagar. The state government said in a statement that soldiers opened fire Monday after they were shot at by protesters. While there was no immediate reaction from the separatist groups.
