Three militants belonging to Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militant outfit were killed in gun fighting with Indian army Wednesday evening in India-controlled Kashmir, defence officials said.

The encounter broke out in forest area of Doda ,185 km northeast of Jammu, the winter capital of India-controlled Kashmir, and lasted for several hours.

"Three militants have been gunned down by Indian army during an encounter that broke down in the evening," said Lt. Col. Biplab Nath, defense spokesman posted in Jammu.

A search operation in the area is going on, said Nath.

The army also claimed recovery of some arms and ammunition from the possession of slain militants.

The LeT group is accused for carrying out the last year's Mumbai attack that killed over 170 people and injured over 300.

The gun fighting between militants and Indian army troopers in India-controlled Kashmir takes place intermittently.

Police and defence officials maintain that most of the times the operations triggering gun fights are carried out on prior information about presence of militants in specific areas.

Source: Xinhua