Indian-held Kashmir erupts in deadly violence, killing 7

Indian troops killed three suspected rebels during a gunbattle Saturday in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while police blamed insurgents for killing three other men during a day of violence and protests in the disputed region.

Kashmiri men inspect a house, damaged during a gun battle, where suspected rebels were holed up, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Counterinsurgency police and paramilitary soldiers staged a morning raid on a cluster of homes in a densely populated neighborhood of Srinagar after getting a tip that militants were hiding there, police said. Troops asked the trapped militants to surrender but they instead started shooting and sparked a gunbattle, police said.

An Indian paramilitary soldier aims his sling at Kashmiri protesters near the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

As the militants and government troops exchanged gunfire, anti-India protests and clashes erupted in several places. Hundreds of demonstrators tried to reach the site of the standoff and threw rocks at troops in a bid to help the rebels escape.

Kashmiri men inspect a house, damaged during a gun battle, where suspected rebels were holed up, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Police and paramilitary soldiers fired shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protesters, and at least one protester was run over and killed by a police armored vehicle. As the anti-India protests and clashes spiraled, shops in the city shuttered and authorities switched off mobile internet services to make organizing protests more difficult.

A Kashmiri protester shouts freedom slogans amid tear gas smoke fired by Indian paramilitary soldier near the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding Indian-controlled Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country.

Most Kashmiris support the rebels' cause while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control. In recent years, mainly young Kashmiris have displayed open solidarity with rebels and sought to protect them by engaging troops in street clashes during military operations. Last year, at least 29 civilians were killed and hundreds were wounded during such clashes.

Kashmiri protesters throw rocks and bricks at Indian paramilitary soldiers near the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

During Saturday's fierce confrontation, demonstrators chanted pro-rebel slogans such as "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom." Police said they were investigating the death of the man killed in what they called a "road accident."

Top separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called the young man's death a murder and he and others called for a general strike on Sunday in protest of the day's killings.

A vehicle belonging to Indian police is engulfed in tear gas smoke fired to prevent Kashmiri protesters from approaching it, near the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

"How a murder was committed by the forces today and then brazenly denied! Is there no sense of humanity left in India?" Farooq wrote on Twitter, as he also uploaded a video which shows an armored vehicle knocking down a youth.

Injuries were reported to at least two protesters, three journalists, three soldiers and a police officer.

Kashmiri protesters throw rocks and bricks at Indian paramilitary soldiers near the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

S.P. Vaid, police director-general, told reporters that Saturday's operation that killed the three militants was a "clean" one. The armed confrontation was the first this year in the heart of Srinagar.

Later Saturday, thousands in Srinagar participated in the funerals of a slain rebel and the civilian. While the civilian was buried in his neighborhood graveyard, thousands marched while carrying the rebel's body to Srinagar's main martyr's graveyard, where hundreds of Kashmiri militants and civilians killed in decades of fighting have been buried.

Meanwhile, gunmen abducted two men from their homes in northern Hajin town late Friday. Their bodies, riddled with bullets, were recovered early Saturday.

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard near the site of a gun battle in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Gunmen also entered a civilian home in Sopore area and sprayed bullets at the residents, police said, leading to the death of a young man. His wife was critically wounded.

Police accused militants of carrying out these killings, though no rebel group has claimed responsibility.

Kashmiris make no secret of their fury at killings by government forces, which regularly trigger bloody protests and demands for freedom from Indian rule. But the reactions are far more complicated, tangled in fear and loyalty when residents accused of being informers are targeted.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — César Luis Menotti, the charismatic coach who led Argentina to its first World Cup title in 1978, has died, the Argentine Football Association said Sunday. He was 85.

“Goodbye, dear Flaco!” the association's statement added, using Menotti’s nickname which means “the thin one.”

The association did not give a cause of death. Local media reports said Menotti was admitted to a clinic in March with severe anemia. He reportedly underwent surgery for phlebitis in April and subsequently returned home.

Passion for soccer and a sharp ability to explain its mechanics were Menotti's hallmark characteristics as a trainer, and he was considered one of the most emblematic and influential coaches in Argentine soccer.

Menotti was a political activist and an affiliate member of the Argentine Communist Party, a boxing fan and an admirer of the works of Latin American writers Mario Benedetti, Gabriel García Márquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Sábato and Joan Manuel Serrat, among others.

“Once I was interviewed by Borges, and when I asked him if it bothered him that I smoked, he told me: ‘What intoxicates me is not the cigarette, but the stupid conversations,’” Menotti recalled in one of his last interviews.

“So, I asked about everything ... but not about soccer, because I know about soccer!” he added.

He launched his career as a player for Rosario Central (1960-1963 and 1967), then went to Racing Club (1964) and Boca Juniors (1965-1966), all Argentine clubs. Menotti played for the New York Generals in the U.S. (1967), followed by Brazil’s Santos (1968) and Italy’s Juventus (1969-1970).

At Santos, he played alongside Pelé, whom he never hesitated to qualify as the best player among legends.

Menotti coached Argentina's national team between 1974 and 1983. He was convinced the side did not get the recognition it deserved when it won the World Cup in 1978 because the country was ruled by a military junta responsible for widespread human rights violations. His detractors would often recall a photo in which Menotti, after the World Cup victory, shook hands with Jorge Rafael Videla, head of the military junta.

On the eve of the World Cup, Menotti left a 17-year-old Maradona off the squad — a decision the coach later said soured their relations for years.

Menotti coached Mexico’s national team in 1991-1992. He also led Barcelona (1983-1984), where he had Maradona on his squad; Atletico Madrid (1987-88); Uruguay’s Penarol (1990-91); Italy’s Sampdoria (1997) and Mexico’s Tecos (2007) — his last coaching job.

For years, Menotti often had a cigarette hanging between his lips, but he mostly quit the habit in 2011 following a three-day hospitalization stemming from his tobacco addiction.

He also was known for wearing hair long but neat. He said he didn't rely on hairdressers. “I cut my own hair. I take the scissors, I cut the ends.”

Menotti began leaving his hair long in the early 1970s. “One day I said to myself: ‘I won’t cut my hair until we lose’. And we went 10 games undefeated, so it all started as a joke,” he said.

In his later years, Menotti said he didn't fear death. “It’s the only thing I’m sure of. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t died at some point,” he said in 2014.

FILE - Argentinean coach Cesar Luis Menotti , right, holds up a Tecos jersey to the media during his official presentation as its new head-coach in Guadalajara, Mexico, Wednesday Aug. 29, 2007. Menotti, the charismatic coach who led Argentina to its first World Cup title in 1978, has died, the Argentine Football Association said Sunday, May 5, 2024. He was 85. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias, File)

FILE - Cesar Luis Menotti, of Argentina, is seen after his presentation as new head-coach of the soccer team Tecos in Guadalajara, Mexico, Wednesday Aug. 29, 2007. Menotti, the charismatic coach who led Argentina to its first World Cup title in 1978, has died, the Argentine Football Association said Sunday, May 5, 2024. He was 85. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias, File)

FILE - Soccer coach Cesar Luis Menotti, from Argentina, shouts instructions during a Mexico Soccer League match against Jaguares in Guadalajara, Mexico, Friday, Sept. 7, 2007. Menotti, the charismatic coach who led Argentina to its first World Cup title in 1978, has died, the Argentine Football Association said Sunday, May 5, 2024. He was 85. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias, File)

FILE - Cesar Luis Menotti, of Argentina, listens to a reporter's question during a news conference after his official presentation as Tecos' new coach in Guadalajara, Mexico, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. Menotti, the charismatic coach who led Argentina to its first World Cup title in 1978, has died, the Argentine Football Association said Sunday, May 5, 2024. He was 85. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias, File)