Srigar, April 11: Four civilians and a soldier were killed on Wednesday as a fierce gunfight between militants and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district sparked off violent street protests and a call for a two-day shutdown in the Valley. Sepoy S. Gukar Roy was killed when militants hiding in a house in Wani Mohalla in Khudwani area fired at security personnel closing in on them. Two other security personnel were wounded in the fighting. The security forces fired back in a bid to capture the militants, said to be linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). As the fighting raged, hundreds of people poured out of their homes and attacked the security forces with stones. The security personnel opened fire. Doctors med the civilians who died as Aijaz Ahmad Palla, 30, who had a gunshot injury, Faisal Elahi, 15, Bilal Ahmad Dar, 17, and Sharjeel Sheikh 28. Police issued a statement saying the civilian deaths took place as a result of crossfire between the militants and security forces. This was strongly contested by locals who assert that the civilians were shot dead by the security forces determined to break up the street protests.