Kashmir militant groups clash

The authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir say a gunbattle between two militant separatist groups has left seven people dead.

Police said six fighters from Hizbul Mujahideen and one from Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed in a fight near the town of Atholi in Doda district.

Neither group has confirmed the three-hour clash.

A BBC correspondent in Jammu says the hostilities between the militant groups are part of an ongoing power struggle to lead the campaign against India's presence in Kashmir.

She says better trained and armed Lashkar-e-Toiba fighters, whose leadership is based in Pakistan, have tried to exert their control over the Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service