Police shoot dead 18 during protests in Kashmir

Police shoot dead 18 during protests in Kashmir
Police have shot dead 18 civilians in the deadliest day in Indian-administered Kashmir since protests erupted three months ago.

A policeman was also killed when he was run over by a lorry.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says reports of Koran desecration in the US have stoked anger.
Scores of Kashmiris have now died since June, when anti-India protests broke out after police shot dead a teenager.

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In Monday's protests, thousands of people defied curfews and took to the streets, chanting anti-India and anti-US slogans and burning effigies of US President Barack Obama, our correspondent says.

An angry mob set fire to several government buildings and a Protestant-run school, as well as attacking a police station, he adds.
Police fired live ammunition to break up the demonstrations, and confirmed that 18 civilians had been killed.