Seven Killed In Kashmir Militant Battle

An Indian policeman lays barbed wire set up as a barricade outside the office of the United Nations Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan during restrictions in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, on February 10.

Four suspected militants and two Indian Army soldiers have been killed in a gunbattle in Indian-controlled Kashmir, army officials have said.

The alleged militants were hiding in a south Kashmir village when the army and police surrounded it, a police official said on February 12.

In the ensuing fire fight, four militants and two soldiers were killed.

A civilian caught in the crossfire also died, officials said.

"Four terrorists were killed and four weapons were recovered from the encounter site," army spokesman in Srinagar, Colonel Manish Mehta said.

The Indian army said three soldiers were injured in the violence. Residents said government forces blasted the house with explosives.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the disputed Himalayan territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in the uprising and Indian military crackdown.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP