Violence has flared in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar as India organises the second phase of a state assembly election that Muslim separatist rebels have vowed to derail.
A trickle of people turned out to vote in the mostly Muslim city where anti-India sentiment runs high, and polling began to the sound of a gunbattle between security forces and suspected Muslim separatists holed up in a house near a polling station.
India has billed the election, which ends on October 8th, as a test of Pakistan's resolve to curb incursions by Muslim militants it blames for attacks that brought the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of war earlier this year.
It also hopes the election will legitimise its rule in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the volatile Himalayan region where Pakistan and China also administer territory.
As polling began today, security forces traded heavy fire with gunmen at the centre of an all-night siege in a house near a polling booth in Srinagar.
The police, who earlier rescued three colleagues held hostage by the gunmen, blew up part of the house. Police said one gunman was dead and one was inside in the rubble. It was unclear if that gunman was alive.