Two Lashkar militants including the district commander of Shopian Waseem Shah were killed on Saturday morning after a gunfight at Litter village of Pulwama in south Kashmir, police said.
When the Army and the security forces were engaged in a fierce gun battle, hundreds of people gathered at the encounter site and resorted to intense stone pelting.
The Army opened fire on the stone pelting protesters and half a dozen villagers received gunshot injuries.
One of the injured persons, identified as Gulzar Ahmad Mir, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, triggering more clashes and protests in Pulwama and Shopian.
Local reports from the area said that even after the encounter, the police and the security forces used excessive force on the villagers, showering tear gas shells and pellets on them.
Reports said that about a dozen of villagers received pellets injuries and were rushed to Srinagar hospitals for treatment.
The authorities have immediately beefed up security to prevent more protests and have suspended the internet service in the whole of South Kashmir as a precautionary measure.
The Army said that it was one of the rare operations in Litter area of Pulwama, where they ventured after four years. It said that Waseem Shah, Alias Osama was not only the top commander but also the main force behind the 2016 unrest in South Kashmir.