Four Indian army troopers including an officer and four militants were killed Wednesday in two separate gun battles in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

While two Indian army troopers including an officer and two militants were killed in Bandipore, 26 km north of Srinagar, two more troopers and two militants were killed in Baramulla, 65 km northwest of Srinagar.

"The 24-hour long encounter at Baniyar, Bandipore concluded with the killing of two district commanders belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Toiba outfits. The encounter started yesterday after a joint operation party of army and police on specific information cordoned the Baniyar village. The killed militants have been identified as Pasha and Musa. In the gunfight an army Major and a soldier too lost their lives," police spokesman in Srinagar said.

The gunfighting also left four troopers including two officers injured, the spokesman said.

In a separate gunfighting in forest area of Panzla in Baramulla, two militants and two troopers were killed, the state-owned television channel-DD Kashir said.

The gunfighting in the area has been going on since Tuesday.

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

Police and defense 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.

Indian security agencies say that the militants killed in the encounters seem to have infiltrated into the region over the past few weeks.


Source: Xinhua