Indian forces and suspected militants clashed Sunday in two separate incidents in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing seven people, including three civilians and a news photographer, the army said. A soldier and two gunmen were also killed in the fighting, and one of the gunbattles continued to rage hours later with six suspected militants holed up in a house, Indian army spokesman Lt. Col. S.D. Goswami said. In the first clash, soldiers confronted a group of gunmen who had apparently infiltrated the area from across the de facto border with Pakistan, Goswami said. The militants were found in the village of Kehli Mandi, about 220 miles south of Srinagar. As soldiers approached, the gunmen opened fire, hitting a house, killing two civilians inside and wounding two others, he said. During the heavy exchange of fire, a soldier was killed. Later, another civilian was killed in the crossfire, said local police chief K. Rajindera.
