OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: Four Indian army soldiers killed and three freedom fighters were martyred in occupied Kashmir on Sunday, an Indian Defence Ministry spokesperson said, in the bloodiest gunbattle in the disputed region since April this year. An army patrol noticed suspicious movement along the LOC in the early hours of Sunday, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

"Army troops were rushed to the area and fighters movement was tracked by surveillance devices. A heavy gun battle followed in which three fighters were killed," he said. Four army soldiers were killed in the gunbattle, he said. This is the highest number of army casualties along the Line of Control in occupied Kashmir since April this year.