Kupwara: Thousands of Kashmiri villagers attended the funeral on Tuesday of seven militants killed by security forces, the highest number of guerrillas killed in a single firefight in the Himalayan region in recent months, witnesses said. Soldiers shot seven militants in a gun battle on Monday in Lolab area of Kupwara district, north of Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital, police said. Thousands of people joined the funeral procession, a witness said. “Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest),” the angry mourners shouted. Security forces do not normally release the bodies of killed unidentified militants to Local people, but, wary of trouble, they decided to make an exception after thousands of villagers clashed with police to demand the bodies be handed over. The identity of the slain militants has not been established yet.