At least 12 militants were killed in separate gunbattles with security forces in held Kashmir, officials said Sunday. Eight militants were killed in a gunbattle in the Keran sector, 130 kilometres north of occupied Srinagar, that began Friday, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel JS Brar said.
"Our troops opened fire after they spotted the militants near a stream in the frontier area. Eight militants were killed - five of them on Saturday and the encounter is still going on," Brar said. No Indian soldiers were wounded in the fighting.
Brar said the soldiers had successfully foiled an infiltration bid by the militants who had slipped into the Keran sector along the Line of Control dividing the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan.
In separate fighting, four militants belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit were killed in clashes in the insurgency-torn region's Rajouri and Kishtwar district. The clashes began on Friday. Senior Indian Army officials often accuse Pakistani troops of helping militants infiltrate into the Indian side of the Line of Control to carry out attacks.