Three suspected freedom fighters were killed in a shoot-out with occupation security forces after taking refuge in a mosque in occupied Kashmir, the occupation army said on Saturday.
The freedom fighters had been hiding in the mosque in Danispora village in central Badgam district, about 40 kilometers, north-west of occupied Srinagar, and were surrounded by occupation soldiers acting on a tip-off, an occupation army spokesman said.
"They were asked to surrender but they opened fire. In the encounter, all three were killed. There is some damage to the mosque also," the spokesman said, adding the three were local members of the region's dominant pro-Pakistan group Hizbul Mujahedin.
Two Indian occupation army soldiers were injured during the encounter, which lasted for more than five hours.
The spokesman said the freedom fighters fled into the mosque when soldiers, backed by counter-insurgency police, ringed the village.
"The fighting has ended but the search-out operation is continuing in and around the mosque," he added.