Three militants were killed in an overnight gun battle with soldiers in a village in Indian Kashmir, an army spokesman said yesterday, reports AFP from Srinagar, India.
Rajesh Kalia said troops cordoned off the village near the tourist resort of Pahalgam after receiving a tip that fighters were hiding out in a private home there.“On specific intelligence army soldiers cordoned off the village on Sunday evening and the gun battle started,” Kalia told AFP.“Three terrorists have been killed. Their bodies and weapons have been retrieved.”A local police officer said soldiers using mortar fire had destroyed the house.Hundreds of thousands of troops are deployed in Indian-administered Kashmir, where rebel groups have for decades been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan.