Kashmir militants 'escaped army'

Indian troops have been fighting an insurgency since 1989

Militants who were surrounded by the army in a remote area of Indian-administered Kashmir may have escaped, the military has said.

It says that an operation to flush them out of dense forest in the the Jammu region has been called called off after a stand-off lasting nine days.

The army says there is a possibility that hiding militants could have slipped their security cordon.

Poor weather and difficult terrain have hindered progress, the military says.

The army said that seven people, three of them security personnel, were killed in the first two days of fighting.

It says that a search for the militants is continuing in the area.

There were overnight clashes on Tuesday and more fighting on Wednesday morning.

Violence in Kashmir has decreased in recent years but militants are still fighting to end India's rule in the portion of Kashmir it controls.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989, when an armed insurgency against Indian rule began.