SRINAGAR, India (AFP) -- A huge fire broke out in a major Indian army ammunition depot in revolt-hit Kashmir, forcing the evacuation of people across a nine-kilometer (five-mile) area, police said.

Panic-stricken villagers rushed to leave their homes in Khandroo, where the high-security installation was located, and surrounding areas, witnesses said.
Huge plumes of smoke from the burning depot streaked the sky and there were sounds of ammunition exploding, witnesses said.
""A major fire broke out inside the army's central ammunition depot,"" a police spokesman said in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian Kashmir where a separatist revolt has raged against New Delhi's rule for nearly two decades.
Fifteen firefighters were injured as they battled the flames, he added.
Police said they had ordered people across a nine-kilometer (five-mile) area near the fire to leave their houses for safer places, fearing spread of the blaze.
The cause of the fire in southern Anantnag district was not yet known.
Police vehicles fitted with loudspeakers circled the area telling people to leave.
""There's panic everywhere. People, some carrying young ones on their shoulders, are rushing to catch vehicles to safety,"" witness Aijaz Ahmed told AFP by telephone.
""They're leaving everything behind,"" Ahmed said.
India is estimated to have at least 500,000 troops stationed in Kashmir to fight the Islamic insurgency