Kashmir siege ends in shoot-out

The army had said it would not attack the mosque

Troops in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have killed all six militants holed up in a mosque in Shangus, 57 km (35 miles) south of Srinagar.

A fierce gun battle on Tuesday morning brought the siege, which had started on Sunday, to an end.

Reports say troops stormed the mosque at 0330 local time (2200 GMT) and killed the remaining three militants.

Three militants were killed in the initial exchange of fire hours earlier.

One Indian soldier and a pro-India militiaman were also killed during the 36-hour siege.

Refuge in mosque

Fighting broke out Monday afternoon around the mosque after security forces cut off power and water supplies.

One Indian soldier and a pro-India militiaman were also killed

The militants were from the Lashkar-e Toyeba group.

The Indian army had earlier said it would wait for the militants to surrender, rather than desecrate the mosque by attacking it.

Journalists were kept away from the site of the siege.

The authorities say the mosque has only suffered minor damage.

The BBC's Altaf Hussein in Srinagar says the Indian authorities could ill afford to cause major damage at a time when India and Pakistan are preparing for talks over Kashmir.

The siege apparently developed after the militants opened fire on security forces conducting a search of houses in the area on Sunday.

Series of sieges

Last month, three Muslim militants, who had barricaded themselves inside a mosque for over 12 hours following a shoot-out with troops, were allowed to escape.

In a statement after the latest siege, the army asked local people to ensure that militants did not use mosques to hide out in.

"This is the second incident involving terrorists...desecrating the sanctity of a mosque in the valley," the statement said.

Other mosque sieges in Kashmir have not ended so peacefully.

The same mosque was the scene of a grenade attack on Friday in which four people died, and more than 50 were injured. Local residents have blamed police for the blast.

In May 1995, a two-month siege of one of the holiest shrines in Kashmir, Charar-e-Sharif, ended with 40 militants escaping, but with many nearby buildings in ruins after heavy gun battles.

In March 1996, 17 militants were killed after they were forced out of the Hazratbal Mosque in Srinagar.

More than 35,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence in Indian-administered Kashmir since 1989.