The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Srinagar

A strike to protest alleged prison abuses paralysed life in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir's main city on Saturday, a day after two policemen died when rebels slit their throats, officials said.

None of the dozen Islamic separatist rebel groups who have been fighting against New Delhi's rule for nearly two decades claimed responsibility for Friday's slayings. But police blamed the deaths on the rebels who have been targeting security forces and pro-India politicians for years in the scenic Himalayan region.

"The two policemen were kidnapped by militants and killed when their throats were slit," a police spokesman said, adding their bodies were found late Friday outside a remote village in northern Kupwara district where they were abducted. News of the killings broke as a day-long strike to protest against alleged mistreatment of Kashmiri prisoners brought life to a halt in Srinagar, summer capital of the region's main city. The strike was called by hardline separatists and lawyers to protest alleged atrocities against Kashmiri separatists and militants detained in jails in Kashmir and other parts of India