Three 'militants' die in Kashmir

The conflict in Kashmir has cost over 60,000 lives

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have killed three top militants in two separate clashes.

The police said the militants, belonging to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group, died in two separate operations in the Jammu area.

They were suspected of planning attacks ahead of India's Independence day celebrations on 15 August, police said.

Militant groups have been fighting an insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989.

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Kashmir dispute

The conflict has cost over 60,000 lives.

A senior police official SP Vaid said, one of the dead militants - identified as Hassan Pakistani - was a close associate of the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Azhar Masood.

Azhar Masood was released from a jail in Jammu after militants hijacked an Indian Airlines flight and took it to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999.