Mob beats cop to death in Kashmir

An angry mob beat a police officer to death outside a mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said yesterday, as tensions ran high in the volatile Himalayan region.

Witnesses said the mob attacked Mohammad Ayub Pandith late Thursday after he fired his pistol when confronted by worshippers at the mosque in the main city of Srinagar who suspected him of being a government spy.

Violence between government forces and civilians has spiked in recent months in the disputed Muslim-majority region, where many oppose Indian rule.

Rights groups say 196 people have been killed so far this year in violent incidents, among them 55 civilians.