Police in Srinagar say government forces have killed the commander of a Pakistan-based militant group in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Police on December 26 said the body of Noor Mohammad Tantray, the head of the Jaish-e Mohammad militant group in the Kashmir valley, was found under the debris of a house where he and several associates had been trapped the night before.
The house became the scene of a fierce overnight gunbattle after authorities cordoned off the neighborhood.
Police described the operation as a "significant breakthrough."
But one police source said two of Tantray's associates had managed to escape.
As the news of Tantray's death spread on December 26, hundreds of protesters spilled onto the streets of Srinagar, throwing stones and clashing with government troops.
Police say at least six protesters were injured in the protests.
Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
Both countries claim the Muslim-majority territory in its entirety.