Police chief Abdul Ghani Mir said Sunday that soldiers shot dead a 17-year-old male late Saturday during a military operation for suspected militants in Markaondal Village, 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Srinagar.

Early Sunday, stone-throwing protesters angered by the teenager's death surrounded a stalled army vehicle. Soldiers, Mir told the news agency AFP, opened fire, killing one person and injuring three more.

"The army has laid a cordon during which a firing incident took place. One person was killed," he said of the military operation.

A police investigation has been launched into the army's response to determine what happened in both incidents, Mir added.

"Police have registered a case against the army."

Security across Indian Kashmir has been increased after several attacks in recent months by rebels on security forces, including two last week in Srinagar, where eight soldiers and two policemen were killed.

Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan by a UN-monitored line of control, with both countries laying claim to the Himalayan region. Three wars over the territory have been fought there.

Numerous armed militant groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989 for independence or a union with Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.

jlw/mkg (AP, AFP)