OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: Police fired tear gas when thousands defied a curfew in Indian held Kashmir and took to the streets Monday in protest at the killing by soldiers of six people including four alleged civilians.

Indian authorities had shut schools and suspended internet services as tension mounted over the shooting of apparent civilians at a military checkpoint in occupied southern Kashmir.

But thousands of demonstrators still clashed with police and troops across the territory, one police officer told AFP.

Tear gas was fired to disperse crowds who defied an official order to stay indoors, he added. There were no initial reports of injuries.

The unrest was triggered by the shooting of four people in Shopian district on Sunday evening when soldiers exchanged gunfire with a freedom fighter at a checkpoint.

The alleged 'shooter' was killed and a weapon found at the scene, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia told AFP. Three others were found dead in a car some distance away. The army described them as accomplices but police were investigating this claim.

Police later found another apparent civilian dead in a separate car. A sixth victim found Monday was identified by police as a suspected militant but no weapon was found on his person.

The shootings sparked an outpouring of anger among locals, who said the civilians were non-combatants. An alliance of Kashmiri groups resisting Indian rule called for widespread protests.

Occupied Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufi said she was "deeply distressed by more deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire" as demonstrators took to the streets.

Civilians often break curfews to rally whenever freedom fighters are killed, hurling stones and chanting anti-India slogans.-AFP