More Kashmir protests against Indian forces

Army spokesman Hemant Junaja said two rebels were killed along the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Three others were shot dead in encounters in Pampore, near the summer capital Srinagar, and in the northern district of Kupwara.

Kashmir is in the grip of a separatist insurgency against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 44,000 people dead since 1989 by official count. India says Pakistan arms the rebels, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Violence has continued despite a peace process between the two countries begun in January 2004 and as New Delhi moves to hold talks with moderate separatist leaders and political parties.

On Tuesday villagers in Kupwara held more protests that included clashes with police over a charge that security forces desecrated a mosque at the weekend during a search for militants.

Two protesters have been killed during five days of clashes with police, the latest a 16-year-old student who died on Monday.

Witnesses and police said villagers held noisy anti-government demonstrations throughout the night and all day Tuesday despite an order by the government closing schools.

The army has denied any wrongdoing during the raid on the mosque. "It is a false and malicious propaganda," Junaja said.

The region's main separatist faction, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said security forces inflamed the issue by cracking down on the protesters.

"The authorities and the (security) forces are continuously taking steps to further worsen the situation," the group said in a statement.

"It is being done with an aim to create hurdles in the ongoing dialogue process," it said, referring to talks with New Delhi that began in September.