Violence in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir claimed six lives in separate shootouts Saturday, while shops, businesses and schools were closed as the strife-torn Himalayan territory observed the anniversary of the killings of two separatist leaders. Unidentified gunmen killed two villagers early Saturday outside Tral village, 55 kilometers (35 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, a local police officer said on condition of anonymity. Police were investigating, but no motive for the killings was immediately known, the Associated Press quoted the official as saying. A grenade blast killed a suspected rebel in another village, while three other suspected rebels were killed in separate gunbattles with army soldiers elsewhere in Kashmir, said army spokesman Lt. Col. V.K. Batra. In Srinagar, schools and colleges were closed and shopkeepers shuttered their stores on Saturday during a general strike called by separatist groups. The Awami Action Committee called the strike to observe the anniversary of the killing of its leader _ Kashmir's then-chief cleric, Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq _ by unknown assailants on May 21, 1990. Twelve years later, another prominent separatist leader, Abdul Ghani Lone, was gunned down while addressing a rally marking Farooq's death. On Saturday, hundreds of supporters shouted slogans as they rode motorcycles through Srinagar. Traffic was sparse, with public buses off the roads and few private cars venturing out. Some other towns in Jammu-Kashmir also shut down in response to the strike call.
