'Militants die' in Kashmir battle

By Binoo Joshi
BBC News, Jammu

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, including a top commander, have been killed in a firefight with troops.

One soldier was also killed in what police described as an eight-hour gun battle in a remote mountainous part of Doda district.

An official named the LeT commander as Iqbal Malik and said he was one of the most wanted militants.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir.

Cave battle

Police said they had a tip-off about the presence of a group of militants in Gundna, about 170km north-east of Jammu in the forests of Doda.

Senior superintendent Prabhat Singh said a cordon was laid on Thursday afternoon and the firefight began late last night.

The militants were holed up in a mountain cave and an eight-hour battle ensued.

Police said Iqbal Malik was a deputy divisional commander of LeT and was "involved in a number of militancy related incident including killings of minorities (Hindus)".

Mr Singh told Malik had been active for more than 10 years and was "one of the most wanted" militants.