Fifteen people, including two young boys and three women from a shepherd family, have been killed in Indian-ruled Kashmir over the past 24 hours in an upsurge of violence.
Violence has spiralled in the Himalayan region since Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee launched a new bid for peace with nuclear rival Pakistan last month.
Five members of the family were shot dead late yesterday in the remote village of Mehratop, north of Jammu, winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, police said today.
"The attackers barged into the house looking for men. But on not finding any men they opened indiscriminate fire, killing the women and children on the spot," a senior police official said. The boys were aged two and four.
Police said angry locals staged a brief protest against the lack of security in the village when officers reached Mehratop.
No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Two suspected separatists were killed today as they tried to escape with five million rupees (ca €100,000) looted from a bank's vehicle near Srinagar, the state's summer capital.
Three members of the pro-Pakistan Hizb-ul Mujahideen group were killed in a shootout in the Anantnag district.
Five others, including a police constable and a woman were killed in other incidents in the troubled state.