Kashmir shut by strike, security day after deadly fighting

SRINAGAR, India – A security clampdown and a strike sponsored by separatists fighting against Indian rule have shut most of Indian-administered Kashmir a day after deadly protests and fierce fighting killed 16 combatants and four civilians.

Armed police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear fanned out across the region Monday and are patrolling streets in anticipation of anti-India protests and clashes.

Authorities have also clamped a curfew in the old parts of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar, the urban center of protests and clashes against Indian rule.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. They demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.