Kashmir mob defies curfew to pelt troops with stones

Police fired tear gas at the group in Khanpora Baramulla district, north Kashmir, and one man was injured. The curfew has been extended to new areas.

Meanwhile, all commercial flights to Kashmir have been cancelled for three days, because of the ongoing trouble.

Police shot dead 18 civilians on Monday in the deadliest day since the Kashmir protests erupted three months ago.

A policeman was also killed when he was run over by a lorry.

The BBC's Altaf Hussain in the main city of Srinagar says reports of Koran desecration in the US have stoked anger.

Scores of Kashmiris have now died since June, when anti-India protests broke out after police shot dead a teenager.

The curfew was extended on Tuesday to cover fresh areas and thousands more federal police were deployed across the valley.

Police patrolled the streets of Srinagar using loudspeakers to warn residents to stay indoors.

On Monday night, an angry mob set fire to a private school in Pulwama town.

A policeman's house was also torched in Anantnag district, police said.

Thousands of people defied the curfew and took to the streets on Monday, chanting anti-India and anti-US slogans and burning effigies of US President Barack Obama.

Protesters set fire to several government buildings and a Protestant-run school, as well as attacking a police station.

Police fired live ammunition to break up the demonstrations. Eighteen civilians were killed and more than 100 people were wounded.

A policeman died after he was run over by a lorry driven by demonstrators in the town of Humahama; Kazinform cites BBC.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version.