At Least 21 Protesters Killed by Indian Troops in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India — Indian troops enforcing a curfew in Kashmir opened fire on pro-independence demonstrators Sunday, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 100, police said.

Thousands of Muslims thronged Srinagar, 400 miles north of New Delhi, shouting pro-independence slogans and reciting Koran verses, defying a curfew imposed since December, witnesses said.

Troops, some in armored personnel carriers, fired guns and tear gas to enforce the curfew. Police said that soldiers in some quarters of the city came under fire from the militants.

Fifteen demonstrators were shot and killed Sunday, and six were fatally wounded late Saturday night, according Srinagar police. Other witnesses said the death toll was at least 30, but that figure could not be confirmed.

More than 500 people were reported taken into custody.

Officials said it was the worst outbreak of violence in India’s only Muslim-majority state, racked by almost two years of secessionist demands.

At least 47 people have been killed in Jammu-Kashmir state since the beginning of the year in violence triggered by Muslim militants demanding independence or union with Islamic Pakistan.

The latest crisis came as officials in New Delhi prepared for talks today with Pakistan Foreign Minister Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, in which India was expected to reiterate a demand that Islamabad end its alleged support for militants in the northern Kashmir region, which is claimed by both nations. Pakistan denies aiding the radicals.

Riots erupted in Srinagar on Saturday after Indian security forces raided homes, arrested at least 300 people and threatened to shoot curfew breakers on sight in a new crackdown on the Muslim revolt.