SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Three militants and a civilian were killed Friday in a fierce gunfight and subsequent clashes in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.
The gunfight broke out at village Chatta Pora in Pulwama district, about 36 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"All three militants were eliminated," the region's Police Chief Shesh Paul Vaid said in a statement.
A senior police official posted in Pulwama told Xinhua they were trying to ascertain identities of the slain militants.
According to police, the gunfight erupted after joint contingents of police and Indian army cordoned off the village on specific intelligence inputs suggesting presence of militants.
"No sooner we reached close to the suspected house, the militants holed up inside the house fired upon our positions thereby triggering a gunfight," the police official said.
Reports said a trooper was also wounded fighting militants in the area.
The house where militants were present was completely damaged after being targeted with heavy mortars and explosive devices, locals said.
Militant groups are engaged in a guerrilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently.
Earlier in the day a militant was killed in frontier Kupwara district during a gunfight.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
