Eight killed in Kashmir election violence

SRINAGAR, India, April 20 (UPI) -- Gunbattles killed at least eight people in Indian-administered Kashmir in a violent run-up to the latest round of general elections, officials said Monday.

The victims of the weekend clashes included two security officers and a militant in the southern Doda district, Pakistan's English-language newspaper Dawn reported. A Muslim woman injured in the cross-fire later reportedly died in a hospital.

Separate gunbattles in the Kupwara and Baramulla districts resulted in the deaths of two militants and a security forces member, and four other policemen were injured in the fighting, a police statement indicated.

Also, suspected Islamic militants shot to death a former rebel who had reportedly renounced violence after being released from an Indian jail last year, Dawn reported.

Indian officials have spread out election voting in Kashmir over five phases in an attempt to provide enough security.