Five freedom fighters and four Indian soldiers were killed in a long gunbattle in Kashmir, officials said on Friday. The freedom fighters and soldiers, including an army officer, were killed near the town of Patan, north of Kashmir's main city occupied Srinagar, a police spokesman said.
He said the fighting had started on Tuesday evening when Indian troops were attacked by a group freedom fighters. "The attack sparked a gunbattle that lasted until Friday," the spokesman said, adding around a dozen private homes were destroyed during the fighting and six soldiers injured.
It was the second major gunbattle in recent months. In October, nine freedom fighters and two Indian officers were killed in the nearby township of Tangmarg. Meanwhile, Indian troops have surrounded a hotel where at least two freedom fighters barricaded themselves in after attacking a police post, other officials said.
"The freedom fighters took refuge inside a hotel on Thursday evening," police officer Imtiaz Hussain said. "We immediately ringed the four-storey hotel and evacuated civilians before launching an operation." Police said at least two policemen had been hurt in the incident.